Who is responsible for the subsidence of 12 houses in Cua Nam?

(Baonghean) - Petitioning to Nghe An Newspaper, 12 households in Block 8, Cua Nam Ward, Vinh City informed that their houses were damaged due to the construction of the Vinh Citadel canal; meanwhile, the construction unit and the investor were irresponsible. After investigation, the petition content is correct, and the construction contractor must take full responsibility.

People complain

Representing 12 households, Mr. Le Viet Hung (house number 72, Pham Ngu Lao street) wrote in the petition: “Renovating the canal around Vinh Citadel is one of the important components of the Vinh Sub-urban project. However, during the construction process, the contractor used heavy-duty vehicles and equipment, pile driving, causing damage to many civil works of the households. Among the 12 households involved, some houses had their entire buildings washed away; concrete, beams, columns, roof floors cracked; walls cracked, foundations collapsed...

Faced with this situation, since July 2016, we have submitted a petition to the authorities of Cua Nam ward and the city. On August 18, the People's Committee of Vinh City issued an official dispatch to the contractor, Thinh Hung Company Limited, to "urgently compensate for damages and resolve complaints about damaged houses and constructions of the people". However, the households only received a general commitment to compensate for damages from the contractor.

Residential area of ​​12 households in K8, Cua Nam Ward had their houses damaged due to construction of Vinh Citadel moat.

We have continued to make petitions many times; the city has established an interdisciplinary team to coordinate with the ward People's Committee and the contractor to inspect the current situation, make a record to assess the damage to people's houses and works and determine the cause. But then the construction unit refused to implement the compensation agreement and continued to construct the project...

After the October rains, the construction unit pulled out the steel sheet piles, causing more serious damage to the people’s constructions. Houses were dragged out to the lake, causing cracks; broken beams, cracked walls, sinking foundations… very dangerous…”.

The state of the houses of 12 households is worrying. Almost every house is tilted towards the moat. House number 76C of Mrs. Vo Thi Lan was broken in half, the back wall adjacent to the ditch completely collapsed. The house of Mr. Nguyen Dang Long (number 74), in addition to the cracks in the wall and split foundation, also collapsed on the ground. Or like the 2-storey house of the petitioner, Mr. Le Viet Hung, the kitchen wall was separated from the living room with a gap of about 2cm; the foundation was separated from the porch about 3cm.

To check the tilt of the house, Mr. Hung used a plumb line to measure. As a result, the wall head and the wall foot (first floor) deviated by nearly 4cm… Mr. Le Viet Hung was upset: We are aware that this project brings many benefits to the people. However, the contractor’s behavior towards the people is too poor. They are indifferent to the people’s loss…”.

Mrs. Lan's house number 76C was split in half and the back wall collapsed.

The contractor is responsible!

It is known that, in the face of the housing situation of households in block 8 being affected during the construction of the Citadel moat, the People's Committee of Cua Nam ward has sent a report to the City People's Committee and the investor. To assess the extent of damage to the houses of 12 households in block 8, Cua Nam ward; and at the same time determine the cause, on September 14, 2016, the People's Committee of Vinh city established an interdisciplinary working group to conduct a field inspection.

Through this, it was determined that the houses of the households all had many horizontal and vertical cracks on the walls surrounding the houses; some houses had cracks, subsidence in the foundation, or were tilted and drifted backwards. The working group concluded that "the cause of the impact on the houses of 12 households in Block 8, Cua Nam Ward was due to the construction of upgrading and renovation projects around the moat of Vinh Citadel".

Which organization will be responsible for the compensation for the damages to 12 households? According to the investor, the Vinh Urban Development Sub-project Management Board, it is the contractor - Thinh Hung Company Limited! According to the investigation, the component "Upgrading and renovating around the moat of Vinh Citadel" has a total construction value of 132 billion VND, implemented by the joint venture of Hoa Hiep Company Limited and Thinh Hung Company Limited; of which, the construction value of Thinh Hung Company Limited accounts for about 1/4.

According to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Phong - Deputy Director of Vinh Urban Sub-project Management Board, the Board has repeatedly requested Thinh Hung Company Limited to take measures to overcome the problems caused to households during the construction of the package. Regarding the incident of 12 households in Block 8, on October 19, the City People's Committee chaired a meeting with the participation of relevant parties to resolve the issue.

On October 21, the Vinh City People's Committee issued a document directing the Vinh Urban Sub-Project Management Board to be responsible for urging the contractor to fulfill its responsibility to compensate and remedy the incident for 12 households; and apply the sanction of temporarily suspending payment to the contractor in case the contractor fails to compensate for damages according to the commitment in the contract.

Mr. Nguyen Dang Long's house has a collapsed foundation and the second floor wall is cracked.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Phong said: “On October 26, the Board will work with the contractor, local authorities, insurance agencies and independent appraisal units to visit households to inspect and assess the extent of damage to determine the compensation value. In case of disagreement, households can invite other appraisal units to determine the value of damage to ensure their rights…”.

As the person in charge of handling the petition of 12 households in Block 8, Cua Nam Ward, Mr. Ha Thanh Tinh - Vice Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee also affirmed that the responsibility for compensation and remedying the incident causing cracks and subsidence of houses of households in Block 8 belongs to Thinh Hung Company Limited. And to ensure the legitimate rights of the people, the City People's Committee has requested the contractor to complete the compensation plan with specific values, publicly announce it to the households to negotiate compensation before October 26.

Mr. Ha Thanh Tinh said: “The city affirms that it will not let people’s rights be affected during the implementation of project works. Regarding the incident of 12 households in Block 8, if the contractor does not comply with the city’s instructions, the investor will take measures to temporarily suspend payment to force them to comply…”.

The component “Upgrading and renovating around Vinh Citadel moat” was determined to be completed in July 2017, but the work is still unfinished. Among many reasons, there is a delay by the contractor in implementing safety measures and troubleshooting.

Since the incident of houses sinking and cracking..., Vinh City People's Committee has asked Thinh Hung Company Limited to take measures to handle the situation, but in the end it was not resolved completely. Will Thinh Hung Company Limited repeat this situation again? Vice Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee, Mr. Ha Thanh Tinh replied: In that case, the city will take strong measures...

Nhat Lan