WB delegation worried about Vinh urban project progress

(Baonghean.vn) - Ms. Phan Thi Phuong Huyen, urban expert, Head of the WB working group, is worried that another rainy season is approaching but the Vinh Urban Sub-project is still slow.

Speaking at the meeting, Ms. Phan Thi Phuong Huyen, head of the WB delegation, said that the project is still behind schedule and June 30, 2017 is the final deadline for Vinh City, Nghe An Province to complete this work. She is worried that the rainy season is approaching, while many items are filled with water, making construction difficult and some contractors do not have space to work.

Working with the WB, Mr. Huynh Thanh Dien, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, said that the Vinh Urban Sub-project is an important project and the province regularly directs to achieve the set goals. Photo: Tran Chau

Ms. Phan Thi Phuong Huyen also pointed out the reasons for the project delay such as: Some households have not agreed on the compensation policy, some have made demands that are beyond the state's policy and it takes time to propagate and explain. Besides, many businesses involved in site clearance have not cooperated and coordinated with the province and city to relocate. Besides, it is also due to the lack of careful counting, then having to re-count and re-approve...

According to the World Bank, Vinh province and city need to remove obstacles for the project contractor, in addition to directing more strongly, completing site clearance work to ensure project progress and reduce capital waste.

In addition to site clearance, the WB delegation also pointed out some limitations on the construction site such as site cleaning and protecting items from damage. Some projects showed concerns about progress such as the 72m road through Hung Tay (responsible for the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen district) or in Nghi Duc, Vinh city.

After listening to the WB's opinion, Mr. Huynh Thanh Dien, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, discussed that in the past, Vinh and Hung Nguyen cities have been very active, the direction of land acquisition from the province to the city has been drastic but there are still some most difficult parts. One of the reasons is due to subjectivity and direction. In addition, there are still some people who do not agree, the work of clearing sensitive areas in the province needs to carefully consider the options.

Provincial leaders inspect the site of the 72m road project of Vinh Urban Sub-project. Photo: Tran Chau

Comrade Huynh Thanh Dien thanked the WB for its regular attention and supervision of the project and also affirmed: This is a very important project of the province and the province will regularly direct to achieve the set goals. He also reminded Vinh city and Hung Nguyen district to stay on the scene, thoroughly resolve problems and urge contractors to take advantage of favorable weather to speed up construction progress at the site.

Vinh ancient citadel moat is still stuck with land acquisition and clearance. Photo: Tran Chau

The Vinh Urban Development Sub-Project, funded by the World Bank, includes four components: Improving services and upgrading basic infrastructure; improving environmental sanitation; building urban bridges and roads and enhancing technical infrastructure capacity.

The project's total investment was adjusted to over 168.484 million USD, equivalent to 3,504 billion VND, of which the World Bank loan was 98 million USD and Vietnam's counterpart capital was 70.484 million USD.

Up to now, the World Bank loan has disbursed 49,722 million USD, reaching 60.7% of the total project capital; counterpart capital has provided 1,049/1,269 billion VND. The project implementation time has reached 86%.

Pearl