Hàn River Bridge

For bridges crossing the Han River in Seoul, South Korea, see Hangang Bridge.
Han River Bridge (Song Han Bridge)

Cầu Sông Hàn
Coordinates16°4′20.2″N 108°13′36.2″E / 16.072278°N 108.226722°E / 16.072278; 108.226722
CarriesMotor vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists
CrossesHan River
LocaleDa Nang, Vietnam
Official nameCầu Sông Hàn
Characteristics
DesignCable-stayed bridge, Swing bridge
MaterialConcrete
Longest span201 meters (659 ft) (x2)
Piers in water1
Clearance below25 meters (82 ft)
History
Construction start1997
Opened2000
Location
Map

Hàn River bridge (Vietnamese: Cầu Sông Hàn) is a cable-stayed swing bridge in Da Nang, Vietnam. Da Nang lies on the west side of the Hàn River and the beaches are to the east. [1]

In the middle of the night, traffic is stopped from crossing the Song Han Bridge and it swings on its axis to allow shipping traffic to pass along the river. The bridge is lit up brightly at night.

History

The Song Han Bridge was built by the people of Da Nang. It is the only swing bridge existing in Vietnam. The bridge is an important part of Danang's cityscape.

Bribery and Corruption case

Shortly after the bridge was completed, the contractor, Phạm Minh Thông, was arrested. He was charged and jailed for stealing money from the project and for bribery, but the men who took the bribes were never revealed.[2][3]

According to Radio Free Asia, the People's Procuracy of Da Nang City concluded in the Document No. 73/KSDT-KT (October, 2000) and Document No. 77/KSDT/KT (November 2000) sent to the Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam and Phan Diễn (then-Secretary of Communist Party Committee of Danang) that Nguyễn Bá Thanh received bribes from Phạm Minh Thông (4.4 billion VND in total) in the construction projects of Hàn River Bridge and North-South Street in Danang.[3] However, the case was eventually dropped. Vietnamese mass media (which, according to Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders, are all strictly controlled by the government[4][5]) were censored and even praised Thanh for his "many contributions" in the development of Da Nang City.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ Trần Mạnh Thường, Nguyễn Minh Tiến hiệu đính Việt Nam - Văn hóa và du lịch - Page 411 "Cầu sông Hàn, cây cầu văng dây sừng sững là thế, mà về đêm trở nên mềm mại làm sao. Với dãy đèn cao áp lung linh ánh nước càng làm cho cầu sông Hàn trở nên duyên dáng, diệu kỳ.
  2. ^ Thanh Hải. Công trình xây dựng cầu sông Hàn đã bị rút ruột như thế nào?. VietNamNet. 2017-04-28. URL:http://vietnamnet.vn/xahoi/phapluat/2003/5/12981/. Accessed: 2017-04-28. (Archived by WebCite® at)
  3. ^ a b c "Two men of the same name and stories about anti-corruption - Part II". Radio Free Asia. Archived from the original on 25 June 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2015.(Archived by WebCite® at )
  4. ^ "Vietnam: Events of 2008". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  5. ^ 2017 WORLD PRESS FREEDOM INDEX: Vietnam was ranked 175/180