Two ends of Thu Thiem tunnel link up

Nhan Dan Online – A ceremony to celebrate the linking of the final sections of the Thu Thiem tunnel under the Sai Gon river was held in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday.

The tunnel is the most important part of the East-West Highway Project.

It is the longest tunnel in Southeast Asia with the length of 1.49 kilometres.

The 33.3 metre wide tunnel has six lanes, and is capable of carrying 45,000 cars and 15,000 motorbikes everyday, at speeds up to 60 kilometres per hour.

Local people witnessing the ceremony.

Work on the tunnel started in February 2005. From the March until June, the tunnel's four 110,000 tonne sections were towed from the casting station in Nhon Trach district of Dong Nai province, to the tunnel construction site in Thu Thiem, Ho Chi Minh City.

Addressing the ceremony, Le Hoang Quan, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee praised contractors for overcoming many obstacles and challenges to ensure pace of the tunnel construction.

Ho Chi Minh City leaders untie the ribbons symbolising the linking of the tunnel.

He also expressed thanks to the Japanese Government and the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) for financing the project, and to local people who were relocated so the project could be finished soon.

The tunnel is expected to be open to traffic by the second quarter of 2011.

The East – West Highway is a project of important significance to socio-economic development, and will contribute to the development of urban areas along the city’s east – west corridor. It will also help improve the urban traffic infrastructure network, and boost development at the Thu Thiem New Urban Area and the city as a whole.

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