Phu My Bridge

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In 2005, Ho Chi Minh City government awarded a 29 year BOT contract to a local consortium, Phu My Bridge BOT Shareholding Company (also called Phu My Bridge Joint-stock Company), to build the Phu My Bridge that spans the Saigon River linking districts 2 and 7. No information was available on contract award method. Phu My Bridge BOT Shareholding Company was a consortium of five local companies comprising Hanoi Construction Company, Investment and Development Construction, Concrete 620, HCM City Infrastructure Investment and Thanh Danh Construction and Trading. Financial closure was reached in November 2006. Financing was mainly provided through a US$93 million loan contracted with French banks Societe Generale and Calyon and guaranteed by Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance. It had a term of 10 years with a three-year grace period. Representing a total investment of US$133 million, the bridge was expected to be completed late 2008. Under the terms of the contract, the Phu My Bridge BOT Shareholding Company was expected to collect tolls during 26 years beginning in 2009. The 2,031-meter cable stayed bridge project with six lanes for vehicles and two lanes for pedestrians was the second biggest suspension bridge in Vietnam after the Bai Chay Bridge. In September 2008, Vietnam Infrastructure, a publicly traded fund focusing on investment into infrastructure in Vietnam qcuired a minority equity stake in Phu My Bridge. However, it was unclear how much stake Vietnam Infrastructure bought in the project and from which investor. In September 2009, Phu My bridge was inaugurated and opened to the public.