There's a particular kind of public-works failure that only makes sense once you see it: a finished bridge, solid and painted, with no road leading onto it. Da Nang had 21 of those projects on its books this year. Now it has 14.

In March, a Department of Construction report flagged 21 bridge projects whose spans were done or nearly done but whose approach roads were not, so the bridges couldn't open, Tuoi Tre reported on October 8. City leadership responded with what the paper called an "ultimatum." Leaders from the Party Committee, People's Council and People's Committee made repeated site visits, and local governments sped up compensation and resettlement talks.

Why bridges sat useless

In July, VOV reported that all 21 projects were in the former Quang Nam area merged into Da Nang in 2025. Eleven bridges were finished but had no approach roads, and others were under construction with the roads lagging behind. The reasons are painfully ordinary:

  • Land: river spans were easy to hand over, but the approach roads cross people's land, and compensation took far longer. VOV said 18 of the 19 projects it counted had site-clearance problems.
  • Dirt: a shortage of fill soil since 2020 stalled 12 projects even where land was cleared.
  • Management: Nguyen Ha Nam, then director of the Department of Construction, told VOV that some local leaders had "not been truly decisive." The switch to two-tier local government added changes of investor and delayed handovers of records.

VOV also described the Tra Dinh bridge in Xuan Phu commune, where people reach the finished span by a steep temporary ramp that's dangerous for motorbikes.

What changed

By October, seven bridges were off the list: Go Cuong, Le Bac, An Binh, Song Thu, the DH7 bridge over the Vinh Dien River, Thon 3 and Nguyen Duy Hieu, according to Tuoi Tre. Le Bac, opened on August 28, serves more than 400 households, about 1,500 people.

Two fixes did most of the work. In Nam Phuoc commune, chairman Nguyen Van Khanh said all 13 affected households had agreed by June 30 to accept compensation and hand over land. The city also assigned mineral mines to supply public projects without auctions, which eased the fill-soil shortage.

One resident, 75-year-old Nguyen Thi Thuy Nga of Phu Long village, told Tuoi Tre she used to pay for an unsafe ferry to visit relatives in Thu Bon. Now she can cross at night.

Fourteen to go

Still waiting: Van Ly, Tam Hoa, Tam Tien, Nghia Tu, Ly Ly, Cho Dun, Tay An 1 and 2, Quang Da, Tay Giang, DH14, Tra Dinh, Tan Binh and a railway overpass. The obstacles are the same two: land and fill. Tay An 1 and 2 in Nam Phuoc have been finished for years.

A dispatch with dates

On October 14, Bao Da Nang reported that Deputy Chairman Tran Nam Hung of the city People's Committee had signed Official Dispatch No. 10229/UBND-SXD, ordering investors to finish approach roads for bridges that are already built. It does put some dates on the table.

For Tam Tien bridge, investors must settle two cases of landowners who haven't yet been compensated, which is holding up the handover of the site, before October 20. The dispatch calls that the final extension and says those responsible will be held to account if it slips again. For Quang Da bridge, residential land clearance is due before December 31, with construction focused on the stretch between the bridge and the DH12 road.

The dispatch also names Van Ly, Tay An 1, Tay An 2, Tay Giang, Nghia Tu, Tan Binh, Tam Hoa, Ly Ly, Cho Dun, Tra Dinh and a railway overpass as bridges to finish in 2026, and tells investors to add staff and equipment and to run extra shifts. Two road projects, one linking Que Son industrial clusters and one from Hoang Dieu Street to the DH14.DB bridge, must complete paperwork to adjust their investment policy. The report gives no costs, and no completion date for the other bridges.

Neither outlet put a total price on the idle concrete. VOV says the projects consumed hundreds of billions of dong; Tuoi Tre says thousands of billions were invested overall. Either way, a bridge that nobody can drive onto is the most expensive kind of nothing. Tam Tien and Quang Da now have dates. The fair question for the rest of the 14 is a published date for each, with a name next to it.

Sources

This story was compiled by the Da Nang Voice news desk from the published sources listed above. Facts, figures and quotes are attributed to those sources; Da Nang Voice did not conduct interviews for it unless the text says so. Corrections are dated and noted at the top of the story. Read our corrections policy. Spotted an error? Tell us.