The Ba Son Bridge is a bridge in Ho Chi Minh City that spans the Saigon River, connecting District 1 and Thu Thiem in Thu Duc City. This is the second connection between District 1 and Thu Thiem, joining the Saigon River Tunnel/Thu Thiem Tunnel which opened in November 2011. The bridge was inaugurated on April 28 2022 and in June 2023 it was renamed from Thu Thiem 2 Bridge to Ba Son Bridge.
The bridge was initially named after the new urban area on the Thu Thiem Peninsula in Thu Duc City (formerly known as District 2). The first Thu Thiem Bridge opened in 2008 and connects Binh Thanh District to the Thu Thiem peninsula. The bridge is now named after the Ba Son area along the District 1 riverfront. The bridge is next to the Ba Son metro station.
Ba Son Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge with a 113-metre-high tower that arches towards Thu Thiem.
The bridge length is 1,465 metres, with the main span being 885.7 metres. It includes 6 lanes for traffic with pedestrian walkways on both sides.
One end is at Ton Duc Thang in District 1, and the other is at Crescent Boulevard (R1) in Thu Thiem.
Bridge construction and design
Thu Thiem 2 Bridge was built by Dai Quang Minh Corporation as part of a Build-Transfer (BT) contract.
DMQ have been allocated 13.6 ha of land in Thu Thiem New Urban Area in exchange for the construction of major road and bridge projects in the area.
Bridge images via tekla.com.
A video animation from the architect showing the night-time light display on the bridge.
[View on youtube.com.]
A video animation of what the bridge and entry/exit ramps will look like.
[View on youtube.com.]
Investigating the wind effects of Thu Thiem 2 Bridge
Thu Thiem 2 Bridge in Vietnam has an unusual design – both above and below the water surface – which needed to be aerodynamically verified before construction.
News and construction updates
2024
HCMC to put anti-graffiti coating on iconic new bridge – [04/01/24]
2023
HCM City bridges renamed – [14/06/23]
“…the newly-renamed Ba Son Bridge was previously known as the Thu Thiem 2 Bridge linking District 1 and Thu Duc City.”
2022
New cable-stayed bridge in Ho Chi Minh City: discover impressive images of its construction! – [13/09/22]
At Thủ Thiêm 2 Bridge’s launch, exuberance and selfies galore – [10/05/22]
Bridge between Saigon downtown and Thu Thiem opens to traffic – [28/04/22]
Ho Chi Minh City’s $133mn Thu Thiem 2 Bridge opened to traffic – [28/04/22]
New bridge to Saigon’s Thu Thiem peninsula ready for opening – [25/04/22]
Saigon applies final touch to major bridge after four-year delay – [28/02/22]
2021
Steel beam installation complete on Saigon River’s newest bridge – [03/09/21]
“Installation of all 17 steel beams of the Thu Thiem 2 Bridge, which spans the Saigon River in Ho Chi Minh City, is finally complete”.
Thủ Thiêm 2 Bridge to open to traffic next year – [21/07/21]
“HCM City’s 1,465m Thủ Thiêm 2 Bridge over the Sài Gòn River between District 1 and the newly created Thủ Đức City is expected to open to traffic in the second quarter of next year.”
[Under construction 19/06/21.]
[Ton Duc Thang 19/06/21.]
[Under construction 19/06/21.]
[Under construction 17/06/21.]
[Road works on Ton Duc Thang 26/05/21.]
[Corner Le Thanh Ton and Ton Duc Thang 26/05/21.]
[Bridge work District 1 side 26/05/21.]
[Ton Duc Thang 26/05/21.]
[Coconut trees 26/05/21.]
[Closing Ton Duc Thang footpath 24/05/21.]
[Work recommenced on the Thu Thiem 2 Bridge 18/05/21.]
Deadline for Thu Thiem 2 Bridge project completion extended to September 9 – [22/04/21]
Work on Thu Thiem 2 bridge to resume before April 15 – [03/04/21]
“It is some 70% complete but the investor has suspended work on the project since August 2020 due to slow site clearance. The land lots of Ba Son JSC, the High Command of the Navy and the Government Office in District 1 have yet to be handed over.”
Land clearance roadblock delays major Saigon bridge completion – [22/03/21]
“It might take until 2023 for Thu Thiem 2 Bridge spanning the Saigon River to be completed instead of September this year as formerly planned.”
[Thu Thiem 2 Bridge construction 12/01/21.]
2020
[Thu Thiem 2 Bridge flyover 24/10/20.]
[Thu Thiem 2 Bridge flyover 17/10/20.]
[Rainbow over Thu Thiem 2 Bridge 30/09/20.]
[Thu Thiem 2 Bridge and city skyline 05/09/20.]
Construction of Saigon’s $133mn bridge hindered by site clearance bottleneck – [04/09/20]
“The project to build Thu Thiem 2 Bridge connecting District 1 and District 2 in Ho Chi Minh City is falling further behind schedule due to delays in site clearance.”
[View from Saigon River 25/07/20.]
[View from District 2 25/07/20.]
[Bridge and Metropole construction 25/07/20.]
[Pillar construction 25/07/20.]
[Thu Thiem 2 Bridge District 1 riverside 23/05/20.]
[Thu Thiem 2 Bridge Ton Duc Thang 23/05/20.]
[Thu Thiem 2 Bridge Le Thanh Ton 23/05/20.]
HCM City: Thu Thiem 2 bridge to open to traffic by late 2020 – [20/05/20]
[Thu Thiem 2 Bridge Construction 03/05/20.]
[Thu Thiem 2 Bridge Construction 25/04/20.]
[Ton Duc Thang 21/04/20.]
[Ton Duc Thang 21/04/20.]
2019
[Saigon River view 08/12/19.]
[Ton Duc Thang 05/11/19.]
[Gantry crane at Ton Duc Thang 05/11/19.]
[Ton Duc Thang 13/10/19.]
[Pillar construction at Ton Duc Thang 28/09/19.]
[Pillar construction at Bason 28/09/19.]
[Thu Thiem 2 Bridge pillar construction on Tun Duc Thang 31/08/19.]
[Thu Thiem 2 Bridge construction District 1 view 14/07/19.]
[Thu Thiem 2 Bridge construction Binh Thanh view 14/07/19.]
[Workers on tower base 14/07/19.]
Ho Chi Minh City administration required to return over $1.1bn in state funds: gov’t inspectors – 27/06/19]
The government inspectorate discovered irregularities in the construction of the Thu Thiem 2 Bridge.
Vinacomex, a state-run company, was initially chosen as the developer for the bridge, but the contract was eventually awarded to Dai Quang Minh.
The Ho Chi Minh City administration then permitted Dai Quang Minh to change the design of the bridge to have six lanes instead of four.
The city’s administration did not report the developer and project design changes to the prime minister as required, the state inspectors said.
The approval of about VND252 billion ($10.8 million) in the cost of the construction was also incorrectly made.
[Video] In remembrance of a green Ton Duc Thang past – [24/06/19]
english.thesaigontimes.vn/69040/thu-thiem-2-bridge-lags-behind-schedule.html
Thu Thiem 2 Bridge lags behind schedule – [13/06/19]
Thu Thiem 2 Bridge stuck with over 11,000 square meters of defence land – [15/02/19]
Construction of Thu Thiem 2 Bridge has got stuck with 11,114.8 square meters of defence land under management by Ba Son Corporation not released.
[View of District 1 site – 01/20/19.]
[View from Thu Thiem – 01/20/19.]
[Ramp construction District 2 side – 01/20/19.]
[Ton Duc Thang view – 01/20/19.]
2018
Sluggish site clearance leads to delay of Thu Thiem 2 Bridge – [13/10/18]
The Department of Transport in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday said that it has petitioned to the People’s Committee and relating agencies to help speed up compensation and site clearance work of Thu Thiem 2 Bridge to hand over the vacant land to Dai Quang Minh Real Estate Investment Company.
HCM City seeks land for bridge – [03/08/18]
The land on the District 1 side of the proposed bridge over the Sai Gon River belongs to the Ba Son Corporation and Naval Command Zone 2, and has yet to be handed over though construction kicked off in early 2015 and the bridge had been scheduled to open to traffic last April.
[The last days of the big trees of Ton Duc Thang, 15/04/18.]
[Cutting down trees on Ton Duc Thang, 15/04/2018.]
[Dry dock on Saigon River, 15/04/2018.]
[Big tree stump on Ton Duc Thang, 17/03/2018.]
[Old trees on Ton Duc Thang, 16/03/2018.]
2017
[Saving a small tree on Ton Duc Thang, 10/12/2017.]
Ho Chi Minh City to fell, relocate 258 old trees for bridge construction – [06/07/17]
DASAN to supervise the Thu Thiem 2 bridge construction in Vietnam – [09/02/17]
[Saigon River before Thu Thiem 2 Bridge construction.]
2016
Ho Chi Minh City announces massive tree removal plan for metro station – [24/03/16]
Ho Chi Minh City has announced a plan to move and cut down 300 trees on Ton Duc Thang Street in District 1 to make space for a bridge connecting to District 2 and a metro station.
2015
BIDV approves loan for construction of Thu Thiem 2 Bridge -[07/08/15]
The Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV) on Thursday signed a contract to lend real-estate developer Dai Quang Minh Corporation VND4.2 trillion (US$193 million) to build a bridge and other construction in a new urban area in HCM City.
Work starts on $145mn Thu Thiem 2 Bridge in Ho Chi Minh City – [04/02/15]
Dai Quang Minh Real Estate Investment Joint Stock Company, the project’s investor, and city authorities broke ground on the construction of the Thu Thiem 2 Bridge at a total cost of about US$145 million.
2014
HCMC to kick off $569.4 mn road-bridge project in Thu Thiem – [02/12/14]
“The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has signed a Build – Transfer (BT) contract with an investor for building four roads and 12 bridges in the Thu Thiem New Urban Area in District 2 with a total investment of VND12,182 billion (US$569.4 million).”
So the entrance to the Thu Thiem 2 bridge is all the way back at Le Duan? I guess that will save downtown from a ton of traffic, but that is a long ugly elevated ramp. And another long ramp on the waterfront hides the river view.
Cool that the video didn’t erase Saigon One!
The entrance begins after Nguyen Du, but because the road used to have 4 tree-lined lanes they had to remove the lanes and trees all the way to Le Duan. I’ve been wondering how much the river ramp will block the view as well. And yes, everyone should embrace the abandoned Saigon One Tower!