(VOV) - A cross-sea bridge will get off the ground in Hai Phong port city on Friday and will be the longest bridge of its kind in Vietnam and one of the longest in Southeast Asia once completed. The Vietnamese Ministry of Transport and Japanese contractor consortium signed a contract to build the bridge – the sixth bidding package of the project on Tuesday. This is part of the Tan Vu-Lach Huyen bridge and expressway project linking Hai Phong’s eastern urban area, Hai Phong international port and the Dinh Vu-Cat Hai industrial park. The project aims to reduce travel costs and time, traffic accidents, and transport risks by ferry, and to stimulate industrial development along the coastal area of Hai Phong, as well as promote tourism on Cat Ba islands. The Tan Vu-Lach Huyen project has a total investment of nearly 12 trillion VND, with more than 10 trillion VND sourced from Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) capital and the remainder coming from the Vietnamese government. The 15.6 km long route runs across the Hai An and Cat Hai districts of Hai Phong city, starting from the Tan Vu interchange on Hai Phong expressway and ending at Lach Huyen port.