How Ho Chi Minh City went from swamps to skyscrapers in half a century

The Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro, the Ba Son and Phu My bridges, and boulevards including the East-West, Pham Van Dong, and Hanoi Highway are among the standout projects that have transformed the face of Ho Chi Minh City over the past 50 years.

Phu My Bridge, over 2 km long, opened to traffic in 2009 after four years of construction, built under a BOT contract at a total investment of nearly VND2.1 trillion ($80 million). Spanning the Saigon River to link District 7 with Thu Duc City, the cable-stayed bridge has a clearance of 45 m, the highest of any bridge in Ho Chi Minh City. It is 27.5 m wide with six lanes, a 350-m main span, and towers 160.5 m tall.

Part of Ring Road 2, it connects Nguyen Van Linh and Vo Chi Cong streets and serves traffic to and from Cat Lai and Phu Huu ports, carrying nearly 30,000 vehicles a day, mostly heavy trucks.

Inaugurated in 2013 after five years of construction, the 14-km, 12-lane Pham Van Dong Boulevard is one of the most attractive inner-city roads in Ho Chi Minh City, built at a total cost of nearly $495 million. A radial route, it connects Tan Son Nhat airport with National Highways 13, 1, and 1K, with the 1.1-km Binh Loi Bridge and its Nielsen arch as the centerpiece. The road has helped reduce congestion, improve the urban landscape, and spur development at the city's northeastern gateway.