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Construction of the Thu Thiem 2 Bridge spanning the Saigon River to link District 1 with District 2 (now part of Thu Duc City) started in 2015. The 1.4 kilometers long, six lane bridge would connect with the Thu Thiem New Urban Area.

Being built at a cost of nearly VND3.1 trillion ($134.9 million), the project was originally scheduled for completing in 2018. As of last year, work on the project was 70 percent complete but construction on certain sections in District 1 continues to face delays since some of the required land belongs to the Ministry of National Defense.

The cable-stayed bridge, with its main tower rising 113 meters and leaning towards Thu Thiem, is supposed to become an architectural highlight on the river with an artistic lighting design. Once complete, it will help connect the downtown HCMC with the Thu Thiem New Urban Area and ease traffic congestion at the intersections of Ton Duc Thang-Nguyen Huu Canh streets and Ton Duc Thang-Le Thanh Ton streets in District 1.

The bridge as seen from Ton Duc Thang Street in District 1. Work resumed on Thursday on the bridge after city authorities worked with Dai Quang Minh and others to tackle all issues so that the project can be completed in 2023.

In 2016, work began on the Nam Ly Bridge on Do Xuan Hop Street at the cost of VND857 billion. It was to replace an old one that had degraded and was too small to meet rising traffic demand. The 450m long, 20m wide bridge over the Rach Chiec Canal was to be completed in 2018, but in 2019, just 39 percent of the work had been done. The project has been put on hold since, awaiting site clearance.

Building materials rust on the half-finished bridge.

Wild plants grow around barriers set at the foot of a bridge span. Locals have begun using them to advertise various products and services.

Some areas beneath the unfinished bridge resemble landfills.

Six kilometers from Nam Ly, the Tang Long Bridge on La Xuan Oai Street is another one that has been languishing after work began in 2017. The 680 meters long bridge over the Trau Trau Canal is meant to replace an old, downgraded one nearby.

The VND450 billion bridge was to be completed in 2019, but so far, only around 30 percent of the work has been done, site clearance proving to be the stumbling block, yet again.

Work on the Long Dai Bridge across the Tac River, a tributary of the Dong Nai River, began in March 2017. Built at a cost of VND353 billion, it was to be completed in two years. But two years after the original deadline, the bridge is far from completion with around 50 percent of the work remaining unfinished. Construction work on the bridge stopped in December, 2018.

The delay in site clearance has been blamed on disagreements over the compensation.

A ceremony marking the handover was held April 9 at the offices of the 3rd Regional Coast Guard in the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau.

Attending the ceremony were Vietnam Coast Guard commander Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Son, U.S. Consul General Marie Damour and other officials, the U.S. embassy said in a Facebook post Saturday.

Lt. Gen. Son said that Vietnam highly appreciated the U.S. gesture and considered the event “an important milestone of the Vietnam-U.S. partnership,” helping Vietnam improve its law enforcement capacity at sea.

The cooperation between the coast guards of both countries has strengthened in recent years.

In 2017, the U.S. Coast Guard handed over the Hamilton-class (the second-largest class of vessels in the U.S. Coast Guard) USCGC Morgenthau cutter to the Vietnam Coast Guard under their Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program. The ship was then commissioned for the Vietnam Coast Guard and renamed CSB 8020.

The U.S. has also sold a total of 24 Metal Shark high-speed patrol boats and is overhauling the USCGC John Midgett, another Hamilton-class vessel, to hand it over to Vietnam.

At a press conference in Hanoi, outgoing U.S. Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink had remarked that security cooperation was developing strongly between the two countries, especially between the two militaries.

He said that Vietnam and the U.S. have worked together to implement a United Nations resolution on North Korea and to promote a common stance on the East Sea. The U.S. has assisted Vietnam in building its defense capacity, especially maritime capabilities, and supported Vietnam in sending peacekeeping personnel to South Sudan.

Referring to East Sea disputes, Kritenbrink had stressed that the U.S. always stood by its partners and allies in building an international order based on rules, and opposed ” the provocative actions of China with the other countries in the region.”

MIT ranks fifth among THE’s best universities in 2021 and leads the world’s schools in technology training according to QS 2021 ranking. It offered the student financial support of $64,000 a year.

Passion for astrophysics

In childhood, Quan was curious about natural phenomena in the universe. “Why are there constellations?” “Where do shooting stars come from?” These were questions that Quan wanted to answer.

Quan scored first in the entrance exam for the math major class at the Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, and the exam for the chemistry major class at the High School for the Gifted in Natural Sciences.

The great achievements were why Quan’s friends called him superman.

Le Manh Cuong, his physics teacher, discovered Quan’s special love for constellations in the sky. Though astronomy and astrophysics was not a subject in the general education program, he decided to help Quan learn about it.

Later, it was the teacher who sent Quan to the national astrophysics team to attend the international competition. In 2019, Quan attended the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) and won a gold medal with maximum scores.

After returning from the international competition, Quan began seeking an environment where he could study and conduct research.

He believed that leading schools such as MIT and Princeton would offer favorable conditions for students’ creativity, learning and promotion of their abilities, especially with the advice of leading professors in their fields.

Quan applied to the two schools because they are among a small number of schools that choose international students based on their abilities, not on candidates’ financial capability.

Quan had a strong profile when applying for the schools. The physics major had a 1600/1600 SAT and 8.0 IELTS. He twice won first prize in physics at the national competition for excellent students, when he was in the 11th and 12th grades.

Quan attended many national and international competitions and won a lot of medals, including the gold medal at the 2018 International Youth Science Olympia and gold medal at 2019 IOAA, gold medal at 2020 European Physics Olympiad.

The medals were not really made of gold, but from sweat during training, according to Quan. He said hopes he will have the chance to attend the International Physics Olympiad this year.

Thuy Nga – Huu Chanh – Phuong Thu

Speaking at the Theoretical Council’s meeting in Hanoi, the Party leader highly valued the council’s work during 2016-2021.

He also suggested some issues needing attention in the time ahead and asked for thorough understanding of the requirements in the political theoretical work in the new period.

The leader told the council to study new theoretical issues in the world, experiences of developed countries, along with scientific – technological revolutions.

General Secretary Trong also asked the council to improve the quality and effectiveness of political theory-related advice to help the Party Central Committee , the Politburo, and the Secretariat direct national development and defence efforts./.