North-South Expressway, Dien Chau – Bai Vot section: 'Dishonest project enterprise'!

Accordingly, Document No. 4264/UBND-CN of the Provincial People's Committee states: "The project enterprise has reported to the Ministry of Transport that the contents are dishonest, objective and do not coordinate with the Provincial People's Committee and relevant provincial agencies in the process of handling project-related problems.”.

North-South Expressway project through Hung Dao commune (Hung Nguyen). The location is still untouched, not yet weathered, even though the land has been cleared (photo taken on May 27, 2023). Photo: Thanh Thanh Nhat Tuan

Regarding this issue, Document No. 4264/UBND-CN of the Provincial People's Committee states:

Compensation workclearancein Hung Nguyen district

Currently, the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen district has completed a number of contents such as: Relocating 2 graves in Dai Hue hamlet; 1 household in Hung Dao commune; 3m of the main line section Km458+700 Km459+500; collector road No. 4 passing through Mr. Chien's household at Km471+5000; linear agricultural land of Mr. Chin's household at Km472+600 Km472+650. Many locations have been agreed by the people to implement construction but so far the project enterprise has not implemented it. Some medium and low voltage power works are being relocated in parallel with the project construction process (agreed with Project Management Board 6 and the project enterprise); the 110Kv high voltage power line is mobilizing people to pull wires and relocate promptly.

There are still some local problems due to the project enterprise adjusting and supplementing the design during the construction process. In Notice No. 195/TB-UBND dated March 24, 2023, the Provincial People's Committee directed the District People's Committee and departments and branches to focus on handling and resolving. However, a problem is due to Project Management Board 6 and the project enterprise's lack of initiative and slowness in providing documents to the locality to resolve related problems, affecting the progress of site clearance (attached with Document No. 976/UBND.GPMB dated May 26, 2023 of the Hung Nguyen District People's Committee on reporting and clarifying some problems).

Document No. 4264/UBND-CN of the Provincial People's Committee reported to the Ministry of Transport on the completion of site clearance and material mines for the construction of the North-South Expressway Project, Eastern section, Dien Chau - Bai Vot section.

About the earth quarry serving the project

Currently, the province has issued 40 licenses for land leveling exploitation (Hoang Mai town: 6 licenses, Quynh Luu: 3 licenses, Dien Chau: 5 licenses, Do Luong: 4 licenses, Hung Nguyen: 6 licenses, Nghi Loc: 9 licenses, Yen Thanh: 2 licenses, Thanh Chuong: 3 licenses, Nghia Dan: 1 license). With licensed land leveling reserves of: 66.322 million m³, of which 18 mines are in operation with reserves of 25,936 million m³Ensure the need for earth filling materials to serve projects in Nghe An province.

- For Dong Tho minein Dien Loi commune, Dien Chau district, invested by Thien Hoang Equipment Joint Stock Company, was granted License No. 430/GP-UBND by the Provincial People's Committee on February 22, 2022, but up to now, the investor has not completed the land lease for mineral activities because the transfer contract with the households has not been completed. Therefore, the reason why the land mine has not been exploited is because the investor is slow in implementing the procedures.

-For the Cow Horn Minein Dien Loi commune, Dien Chau district, invested by Hoang Phuc Company Limited, was granted License No. 429/GP-UBND by the Provincial People's Committee on February 22, 2022, but up to now, the investor has not completed the land lease for mineral activities because it has not yet signed a transfer contract with the households. Therefore, the reason why the land mine has not been exploited is because the investor is slow in implementing the procedures.

-For Ru Dinh Ngo minein Hung Yen Nam commune, Hung Nguyen district, invested by Truong Thi Investment Joint Stock Company, has been approved by the Provincial People's Committee in Decision No. 15/QD-UBND dated January 30, 2023 and the Environmental Impact Assessment Report was approved on April 24, 2023. Up to now, the investor has not completed the procedures for converting the purpose to mineral land, and has not carried out the procedures related to land lease. The implementation of the procedures for converting the purpose and leasing land is due to the investor not preparing the documents according to regulations, the responsibility belongs to the investor.

- For Eo Gio area,Hung Tay commune;Ru Ray and Ru Ram AreaHung Yen Nam commune: These locations are not earthworks.

Eo Gio area is the location where environmental improvement and restoration work is being carried out in the area where raw materials have been licensed for VSIP Nghe An Industrial and Urban Area. Ru Ray and Ru Ram areas belong to the Nui Ram and Nui Ray landslide treatment project in Hung Yen Nam commune, Hung Nguyen district, Nghe An province. Therefore, the proposal of Phuc Thanh Hung Investment Joint Stock Company to build an earth quarry in these areas is inappropriate.

In many locations through Hung Yen Nam and Hung Tay communes (Hung Nguyen), the new expressway is just a service road (photo taken on May 27, 2023). Photo: Thanh Thanh Nhat Tuan

From the above contents, Dong Tho, Sung Bo, and Ru Dinh Ngo mines are material mines that are in the process of carrying out procedures for changing purposes and leasing land according to current regulations. Carrying out procedures is the right and responsibility of investors, and state management agencies have no basis to process records when investors have not submitted records according to regulations. Thus, the project enterprise has reflected the contents to the Ministry of Transport dishonestly, objectively and has not coordinated with the Provincial People's Committee and relevant provincial agencies in the process of handling project-related problems.

According to the investigation of Nghe An Newspaper reporter, the component project of investing in the construction of the expressway section Dien Chau - Bai Vot has a length of 49.3km, of which the section passing through Nghe An is 44.4km. (Hung Nguyen district alone is 25.88km). This component project is invested by a consortium of investors: Hoa Hiep Company Limited, CIENCO4 Group Joint Stock Company, Nui Hong Investment Company Limited, Truong Son Construction Corporation, VINA 2 Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company. The project enterprise is Phuc Thanh Hung Investment Joint Stock Company.

The problems with the sandbank land and Mr. Hoang's factory, Km463+416.175, in Hamlet 6, Hung Dao Commune (Hung Nguyen) have been completely resolved by the Hung Nguyen District Land Acquisition Council. The business household received compensation and handed over the site to the project on May 31, 2023. Photo: Thanh Thanh Nhat Tuan

On May 17, 2023, Phuc Thanh Hung Project Enterprise sent a document to Nghe An Provincial People's Committee, Hung Nguyen District People's Committee and Project Management Board 6 - Ministry of Transport requesting to resolve site clearance problems of the Dien Chau - Bai Vot construction investment component project. The project enterprise listed many problems and said that this affected the progress of the project. Specifically: Site clearance problems at the access road to the underpass at Km453+206, hamlet 4, Hung Yen Nam commune; Residential land problems of 8 households, rice fields and 2 graves in Dai Hue hamlet, Hung Tay commune (within branch N6 - National Highway 46B intersection); The main route's land acquisition is about 3m wide from the foot of the embankment at the section (Km458+700 - Km459+500) corresponding to 847.46m2, Phuc Dien village, Hung Tay commune; 480m²sandy land,Mr. Hoang's factory, route Km463+416.175 in hamlet 6, Hung Dao commune; Obstacles in the clearance of the access road through the residential land of 3 households at Km463+720 - Km464+400 in hamlet 7, Hung Dao commune; The clearance of the access road 1A for the residential land at Km467+945.74 - Km468+410.69 in Hung Tan commune; Obstacles in the clearance of access road No. 4 (off-route) through Mrs. Huong's house at Km471+350 in hamlet 1, Chau Nhan commune... Regarding technical infrastructure, the project enterprise reported that there are still 4/73 power lines that have not been relocated, including 1 location of a 110KV high-voltage power line (1 location North of National Highway 46B at Km460+060 in Hung Tay commune); 3 low-voltage and medium-voltage power line locations (at Km455+425 of the power line to the recycling factory in Hung Tay commune and Km463+400 – Km463+600 of Hung Dao commune).

The construction progress of the expressway section through Hung Nguyen district is slow. Photo: Thanh Thanh Nhat Tuan

However, immediately after that, the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen district had a detailed report explaining each content that the Phuc Thanh Hung Project Enterprise proposed to the Provincial People's Committee and Project Management Board 6. Here, the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen district affirmed that since May 2021, the District Land Acquisition Council has coordinated with Project Management Board 6 - Ministry of Transport and the Phuc Thanh Hung Project Enterprise to hand over the site 5 times, of which the last handover was in May 2022 and was 100% completed. There are problems that the project enterprise reflected, but most of them have reached an agreement between the parties on the handling plan, and these problems basically do not affect the construction of the main route of the North-South expressway.

One of the two graves at the branch road location has been moved by the household but the construction has not yet reached the site (photo taken on May 26, 2023). Photo: Thanh Thanh Nhat Tuan

After many days of investigation and field survey, Nghe An Newspaper reporters found that the reflections of Phuc Thanh Hung Project Enterprise were not accurate. Many of the contents considered to be "problems" that the project enterprise raised had been handled by the Land Clearance Council of Hung Nguyen District before. Some other problems were located at the location of the service road and branch road, which did not greatly affect the construction progress. Most noteworthy, the problem atunderpass access road at Km453+206,Hamlet 4, Hung Yen Nam Commune. The fact that the height of the underpass (under construction) is 1.2 - 1.6m lower than the existing residential road shows that this is a design error, and the petition of the people in Hamlet 4, Hung Yen Nam Commune is legitimate and needs to be considered and handled.

The tunnel through Hamlet 4, Hung Yen Nam Commune (Hung Nguyen) is designed to be 1.2-1.6m lower than the current road. Photo: Thanh Thanh Nhat Tuan

Regarding this issue, it is also necessary to mention the report of Project Management Board 6 sent to the superior agency on the progress of the implementation of the component project of the expressway construction investment section Dien Chau - Bai Vot in May 2023 (reported by Nghe An Electronic Newspaper on May 29, 2023 in the article "Delayed progress of the North - South expressway project through Hung Nguyen district: Is it because of land clearance problems?"). Specifically, Project Management Board 6 reported that localities have handed over 100% of the land, only some problems in the section passing through Hung Nguyen district are being considered for resolution. At the same time, it affirmed that the slow construction progress is due to "from the beginning of 2023 until now, contractors have not been determined to mobilize additional equipment, human resources, and increase construction sites to compensate for the delayed progress...".