Tunnel connects under Saigon River

HCMC chairman Le Hoang Quan grants badges to 34 persons with outstanding contributions to the project

HCMC – HCMC on Tuesday held a ceremony to mark the successful linkage of all the four elements of the Thu Thiem Tunnel that crosses beneath the Saigon River.

The place where the final concrete is poured to link up the Thu Thiem Tunnel with District 1 - Photos: Kinh Luan

Luong Minh Phuc, director of the HCMC East-West Highway and Water Environment Project Management Unit, said installation of traffic control and safety devices inside the tunnel would be completed by next March. The highway, including the tunnel, will be inaugurated in the second quarter of 2011.

The HCMC government has established the Thu Thiem Tunnel management board to operate the project after the whole East-West Highway is fully opened to traffic. 

The tunnel, which links the city’s commercial district and Thu Thiem Peninsula, is the most important work of the highway project. It is about 1.4 kilometers long and 33 meters wide.

The six-lane tunnel will allow a maximum speed of 60 kilometers an hour and help relieve traffic congestion.

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Sai Gon River tunnel nears completion

A ceremony celebrating the linking of the final sections of the Thu Thiem Tunnel under the Sai Gon River was held in HCM City yesterday. Ninety-five per cent of work on the tunnel has been completed. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoang Hai

HCM CITY — A delegation of HCM City leaders yesterday walked into the Thu Thiem Tunnel beneath the Sai Gon River from the District 1 side to meet up with veterans and other representatives of Districts 2 and 9 entering from the other bank.

Le Thanh Hai, Party Committee Secretary of the city, and Le Hoang Quan, chairman of the People's Committee, were accompanied by contractors of the East – West Highway for a ceremony to mark the completion of the tunnel.

The ceremony, held on both sides of the river was broadcast live on HCM City Television.

According to the contractors, 95 per cent of the work is complete. However, while the main work has been completed, other systems like water supply, lighting, fire prevention, ventilation, and others have yet to start.

Quan expressed thanks to all relevant agencies that helped do the project and the residents who were relocated for finishing it soon.

Luong Minh Phuc, head of the HCM City Urban Transport Development Management Board, said the tunnel will help ease congestion in the city and provide the shortest route from downtown to Thu Thiem.

Towing and installing the tunnel's four 110,000-tonne sections were a new and big challenge for the Vietnamese workers.

The construction provided an opportunity for Viet Nam to acquire technologies from international experts, he said, hailing the successful construction.

The city leaders conferred badges on 35 people, including seven Japanese, for their contribution to the project's success.

Vital statistics

It is the longest tunnel in Southeast Asia with the length of 1.49km and is part of the East – West Highway running 22km across the city.

Work on the tunnel began in February 2005 and will be open to traffic along with the highway in the second quarter of next year.

It can withstand earthquakes measuring six on the Richter scale and has a life span of 100 years.

It will carry 45,000 automobiles and 15,000 motorbikes every day, allowing the vehicles to travel at 60km per hour.

It is expected to speed up the development of the proposed Thu Thiem New Urban Area in District 2. — VNS

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Thu Thiem tunnel gets link-up

The East-West Highway Project Management Board (EWHPMB) and Japanese
contractor Obayashi on September 4 poured final concrete to link up the
Thu Thiem tunnel, the first immersed tunnel in Southeast Asia.

According to EWHPMB Director Luong Minh Phuc, to date, 80 percent of
workload on the tunnel, which is built across Saigon River in Ho
Chi Minh City , has been completed.

In order to
ensure the inauguration of the tunnel on schedule, the management board
and the contractor are arranging three shifts a day with 300 engineers
and workers each, Phuc said.

He added that the
third package of the project, the mechanics-electricity package, will
begin after concrete blocks get stabilized. The package includes
installing water supply, lighting, firefighting, ventilation, air
pollution measurement and vehicle counting systems with international
standards. The package is estimated to take six months.

The Thu Thiem tunnel, which is about 1,490m in length, 33m in width
and 9m in height, with six lanes, is scheduled for technical test runs
in March next year.

The whole East-West Highway , including the Thu Thiem tunnel, is expected to open to traffic in June 2011.

Once operational, the tunnel can accommodate around 45,000 automobiles and 15,000 motorbikes each day./.

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