The city of Hue, Vietnam is building a new ring road that will cross the Perfume River. In the past, the city had already organized a design competition but did not identify a satisfying proposal. In 2020, when the city launched its second design competition, a total of 13 proposals were received from seven consultants. Selected among the top three, on January 28, 2021, WSP’s proposal for a modern arch bridge was awarded by the competition committee as the winner.   

A Concept Under the Flamingo Wing

Inspired by a local story on returning flamingos, WSP’s bridge concept integrates various elements of this emblematic and gracious bird. The bridge is 360 metres long and has a main span of 180 metres wide. The total cost of the project is estimated at approximately 60 million euros.

The work was carried out in close cooperation with WSP’s experts in Helsinki and Oulu, Finland along with E&R Consulting, a local partner based in Hanoi, Vietnam. The project proposal was also a collaborative effort between WSP’s Design Studio in Finland and Baezen's modelers in Hanoi and Bangkok. Based in Saigon, Vietnam, WSP’s Antti Karjalainen acted as Team Leader and Lead Designer on this project. Commenting on the project, Antii Karjalainen said, “The longstanding cooperation between WSP’s Finnish and Vietnamese teams makes working together very straightforward. Our skill sets complement one another in these types of joint projects, resulting in a wonderful experience for all those involved,” says Antti Karjalainen.

This project represents another great achievement of WSP’s work in Vietnam over the past 20 years, with iconic landmark bridges such as Thu Thiem 2, which is under construction in Ho Chi Minh City, the Binh and Rao 2 Bridges in Haiphong, Tran Thi Ly Bridge, the Fire-breathing Dragon Bridge in Danang, and the Cao Lanh highway project with its many bridges.