Vinh Urban Development Project - Transforming the City's Appearance

(Baonghean) - Following the efforts to attract investment by the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People's Committee, the City Party Committee, and the Vinh City People's Committee, on October 25, 2011, the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 4522/QD.UBND-CN approving the Project for the Development of Medium-Sized Cities in Vietnam - Vinh City Sub-Project, funded by a World Bank loan and counterpart funds. The project opens up tremendous prospects for upgrading and improving infrastructure in Vinh City.

The project aims to enhance access to the city's urban infrastructure services, invest in basic urban infrastructure, and improve the city's sanitation and transportation infrastructure. In addition, the project will provide technical support and strengthen the city's capacity in urban planning, management, and finance, ensuring its sustainable development. Furthermore, the project will serve as a valuable learning experience for other cities of similar size in Vietnam.

The project comprises four components: Component 1: Service improvement and upgrading of basic infrastructure; Component 2: Environmental sanitation improvement, including: Upgrading and renovating the North Canal, constructing a regulating reservoir; upgrading and renovating the moat surrounding Vinh Ancient Citadel, upgrading and renovating the Cua Nam Lake; Component 3: Urban roads and bridges; and Component 4: Capacity building and technical support.

The project will upgrade and renovate the North Canal, section 1 from Mai Hac De Street to the North Canal Bridge, with a length of 1,240 m, constructing a reinforced concrete box culvert with a flower garden and walking path above it; section 2 from the North Canal Bridge to the Post Office Bridge, with a length of 2,060 m, embankment on both sides of the canal, and construction of sidewalks on the south bank; section 3 from the Post Office Bridge to the regulating lake, with a length of 1,400 m, dredging, embankment on both sides of the canal, construction of a management road, sidewalks, lighting and green trees along both sides of the canal; constructing a main sewer line to collect wastewater and wastewater separation wells along both banks of the North Canal, from the North Canal Bridge to the wastewater drainage pumping station at the end of the North Canal near the regulating lake; another item is the construction of a regulating lake at the end of the North Canal, with a water surface area of ​​40 hectares, with a lighting system, green trees and embankment.

Construction of the final section of the North Canal

The project also includes the construction of a new Hung Tay-Vinh road, connecting to the Vinh city bypass at the beginning and National Highway 1A at the end, a bridge over the Ke Gai River, and a railway overpass in the Vinh railway car factory area with a width of 10.25m and a total length of 443m (including the abutments). Following this, a new road connecting National Highway 46 with the Lam River embankment road will be constructed, 35m wide and 8,246m long. A new bridge will be built over the Rao Dung River, and technical support will be provided to the Project Management Board, including urban planning and transportation, to relevant agencies.

The project's implementation cost is $121.5 million, of which $26.5 million is domestic counterpart funding.

Over the past period, despite facing numerous difficulties due to economic recession and budget revenue, with the leadership and guidance of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee, and the attention of all levels of government from the central to local levels, Vinh City and the Vinh Urban Development Sub-project Management Board have actively sought investment capital and counterpart funds for the project, organizing open bidding to find contractors with the capacity to construct quickly and ensure quality. Several reputable and capable contractors have won bids, such as Hoa Hiep Co., Ltd., Tan Nam Company, the joint venture of Ha Huy JSC, Minh Quang Co., Ltd., etc. Some contractors have worked under difficult conditions due to land clearance issues, geological impacts causing cracks, subsidence, and requiring compensation and relocation of households... however, they have made every effort to accelerate construction and ensure the project's progress despite limited capital disbursement. Provincial and city leaders regularly work with the World Bank and relevant ministries and agencies, directly inspecting the site, urging progress, and directly resolving difficulties for the project to ensure it meets the World Bank's requirements. As an international project with extensive paperwork and procedures involving many ministries and agencies, the Vinh Urban Development Sub-project Management Board has always strived to ensure the project is completed on schedule as committed.

Currently, the project has completed the signing of contracts for all major consulting packages (8 packages); and commenced construction on 10 out of 16 construction packages. The total value of construction and consulting packages as of December 2015 is US$43.5 million out of US$83.2 million (equivalent to 52.2% of the total available project capital). The disbursed capital for the Vinh City sub-project is US$21.845 million, reaching 27% of the total project capital, and the disbursement of counterpart funds for the project has reached 70.3%.

The resettlement area in Hamlet 5, Nghi Phu Commune, and the school sanitation project in the city have been completed. The project is nearing completion of the upgrading and renovation of the North Canal, sections 1 and 2, according to the approved design, ahead of schedule. The wastewater system has been separated and laid underground, creating a clean and green canal for the North Canal. Section 3 of the North Canal, awarded to Hanoi Construction Corporation – JSC, was contracted on November 27, 2014, and is scheduled for completion on May 27, 2017. Currently, only about 30% of the work has been completed. Other items are under construction.

According to Mr. Nguyen Trung Dung, Director of the Vinh Urban Project Management Board, the project has achieved very encouraging results, especially for the North Canal, where wastewater has been channeled underground, leaving only surface rainwater, creating a clean canal in the heart of the city. In the near future, the city will have an additional regulating lake at the end of the North Canal, the largest of the city's current lakes, covering 53 hectares, which will regulate the environment and enhance the city's landscape.

Pearl