Le Van Trung, director of the Department of Transportation of Danang, has said that city leaders have agreed on the construction of a tunnel, which would connect the two banks of the Han River, from Dong Da Road to Tran Hung Dao Road.

Earlier, Da Nang’s Vice Chair Nguyen Ngoc Tuan told the 3rd session of the Da Nang People’s Council about the decision last week.

Dr. Hoang Phuong Hoa, Head of the Bridge - Tunnel Faculty at Danang University of Science, and a member of the jury of a contest on designs of the Han River tunnel, said the city did not choose the only design submitted to the jury as it did not meet the city’s criteria.

According to Hoa, the city prefers a tunnel rather than a bridge in order to keep the remaining 2.5 km long river surface free from any bridge to serve boat races and firework festivals. 

Another jury member, architect Hoang Quang Huy, Chairman of the Danang Planning and Urban Development, said the construction of a tunnel is appropriate, because there are already six bridges across the Han River, along a distance of 6 km, which are 1.2km from each other. The city should not build any more because bridges will hinder the travel of boats.

Huy said the only design submitted by a joint venture between a company of the Ministry of Transport and Oriental Consultants Global Company Ltd of Japan has some shortcomings but, because it is the only option, Da Nang can allow the company to adjust the design to fit the city’s requirement.

"If Da Nang builds the Han River Tunnel, this will be the first river tunnel in central Vietnam and will become another tourist destination in the city," Huy said, adding that Da Nang had sent two working groups to HCM City to study the Thu Thiem Tunnel, which runs across the Saigon River, the first river tunnel in Vietnam.

Da Nang recently organized a contest on landscape design for the two banks of the river, with the first prize worth $50,000.

In late September, the Da Nang City People's Committee in collaboration with the Department of Transportation held a contest for design of bridges across the Han River. Six joint ventures submitted seven projects, including six bridge and one tunnel projects. The city then decided to build a tunnel, instead of a bridge.

The tunnel would have a length of 1,300m, with investment capital of VND4,100 billion and expenditures to operate the tunnel would be VND26.4 billion/year.

Le Ha