The new bridge:

The bridge arrives in Thu Thiem on a typically narrow thoroughfare so it is still no good for heavy traffic. It will eventually link up with the east/west highway currently being built along the canal through D5, into D1, through the tunnel under the river (of which I have heard very little recently) and then into Thu Thiem eventually arriving at H1 some 2/3kms beyond the Saigon bridge. I am hoping this will eventually mean the end of articulated lorries trundling down Ton Duc Thang, which I envisage as a semi-pedestriansed modern river front in the future. Really, the river should be more of a centerpiece, as it is in any city, and once the old ports further along it’s banks are cleared as they inevitably will be, we have potential for some nice outdoor restaurants/cafes lining the river. So much potential!

So in the old days, I’d finish working in PMH and drive over to D2 to play football - a minimum of 45 minutes. Not a million miles, but when you understand that it could actually be a journey of 15/20 minutes with the right infrastructure in place, you get frustrated. Apparently the bridge needed has had ‘contractual’ and ‘bureaucratic’ problems for many years. A very tired old story, one which represents the biggest obstacle to useful development — because friends, acres of high end apartments and extortionate office space is only useful to the few. However, by 2009, this new journey should be ready to test drive, finally giving a link between the developments in Phu My Hung (which are spreading east) and the developments and apartment blocks in Anh Phu, D2 (which are spreading west). With decent transport links it is likely the two areas will continue to grow together, and what with the government plans for the rest of D2 (Thu Thiem), we could see a new urban center on the other side of the river. I am hoping this will happen and the burden will be lifted on what will become known as the ‘old city’.

Now dominating the skyline of the city from many angles, the Saigon Pearl is nearly finished. In Binh Thanh district, it is right on the river and well placed - equidistance between the highway and the city center. The street it is built however, as residents of The Manor will attest to, floods horribly during the rains (which always makes me laugh as the slogan of the Manor is ‘The best address in Vietnam’). Here is the Pearl, the Manor in the background. You can see the villas/townhouses built below the towering apartment blocks.

And close up:

In the town center, Times Square on Nguyen has finally begun construction phase, as my friend Chris often tells (he lives basically on top of the site and often they work at night). Saigon Happiness Square, Nguyen Van Cu:

And back where we started, Sailing tower on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai / Pasteur.

I am, of course, just skimming the surface, but that’s a round up of what’s going up. Amidst all the madness, the traffic, the people dressed in orange who sweep the dust a further two feet up the road, all I can do is share the sentiments of the giant billboard awaiting arrivals leaving the fantastic new international terminal at Tan Son Nhat :