North-South Expressway: In 2019, Nghe An needs to clear 80-90% of the land

Working scene. Photo: Dao Tuan

Attending the conference on Nghe An province's side were comrades: Nguyen Dac Vinh - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation; Thai Thanh Quy - Alternate Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

The project has a total investment of nearly 16,400 billion VND.

The North-South Expressway project through Nghe An province is about 87.84 km long, including 2 component projects: Nghi Son (Thanh Hoa) - Dien Chau (Nghe An) sub-project and Dien Chau (Nghe An) - Bai Vot (Ha Tinh) sub-project. Specifically, the North-South Expressway in the East of Nghe An passes through Hoang Mai town, the districts of Quynh Luu, Yen Thanh, Dien Chau, Nghi Loc and Hung Nguyen.

The expressway will pass through 66.8 km of agricultural land in the province; 21 km of residential land; with nearly 700 households subject to resettlement.

Detailed planning of the North-South expressway section from Nghi Son (Thanh Hoa) - Dien Chau (Nghe An).

The total area to be recovered to implement the entire North-South Expressway Project in the East of Nghe An Province is 737 hectares. The total investment of both projects is nearly 16,400 billion VND, of which the Nghi Son - Dien Chau sub-project is 8,380 billion VND, and the Dien Chau - Bai Vot project is 8,077 billion VND.

Regarding site clearance to implement the project, with an estimated total cost of nearly VND 2,200 billion, the Ministry of Transport and related units have worked and agreed on the policy with localities where the highway passes through.

The North-South transport corridor plays a very important role in the development of the country, connecting the political center of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, passing through 32 provinces and cities, connecting 4 key economic regions of the North, Central, South and the Mekong Delta. According to forecasts, by 2020, the demand for passenger and cargo transport on the North-South transport corridor will be 45.37 million passengers/year and 62.27 million tons of cargo/year.

To implement this key project, Nghe An Provincial People's Committee has established a Steering Committee and related components. The province has approved land use plans for 6/6 districts and towns where the project passes through. In the spirit of direction from the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Transport, the Provincial People's Committee has requested localities to implement compensation and site clearance for the North-South Expressway construction projects.

Currently, localities are reviewing the number of resettled households and organizations affected by the project. Up to now, Hoang Mai town, Yen Thanh and Hung Nguyen districts have submitted to the Department of Construction for permission to survey and select resettlement sites.

The two sub-projects need to install 38 piles for site clearance, and it is expected that the pile driving along the entire route will be completed by April 30, 2019.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Nhat speaks at the meeting. Photo: Dao Tuan

Striving to spend 7,000 billion VND to implement the project in 2019

Speaking at the meeting, delegates reflected and proposed a number of contents related to compensation, site clearance, resettlement, and issues arising during the construction of the North-South Expressway.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Nhat requested Nghe An province and relevant sectors, units and localities to carefully study the structure of the expressway, service roads, residential roads and clearance work to identify problems and obstacles for adjustment.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Nhat said that at this time, when the project is in the technical design survey phase, it is still possible to propose adjustments, but once implementation begins, no adjustments will be allowed.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Nhat also said that to implement the North-South Expressway project, the Ministry of Transport has been allocated 55,000 billion VND, and will try to use about 7,000 billion VND in 2019. The Deputy Minister requested Nghe An province to try to carry out 80-90% of the site clearance volume in 2019. In particular, propaganda work must reach each household affected by the project.

Speed ​​up project implementation while valuing people's lives

At the meeting, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Thai Thanh Quy proposed a number of solutions to implement the North-South expressway project. Photo: Dao Tuan

Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Thai Thanh Quy requested the Ministry of Transport to allow the appointment of contractors related to the relocation of public works, measurements and extracts. Speeding up the progress of boundary marker handover must have a reasonable solution, and must be done firmly before handing over.

For the section passing through National Highway 7B and National Highway 48, Quynh Lam Bridge (Quynh Lam Commune, Quynh Luu District), the Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee recommended that the design consultant survey and research carefully to determine whether to build an overpass, raise the road level or tunnel to create the best efficiency, because this area has nearly 40 households affected.

Comrade Thai Thanh Quy also proposed adjusting the surface of the residential road from 3.5m to 5.5m to ensure convenience for the people.

Delegates attending the meeting. Photo: Dao Tuan

In addition, during the construction of infrastructure projects, attention should be paid to people's production activities, and construction projects should not obstruct people. For areas where site clearance has been completed, construction units should have protection plans to avoid encroachment and re-encroachment.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee agreed with the viewpoint of the Ministry of Transport, the implementation of the project needs to take the people as the root, consider all impacts of the project on people's lives, in that spirit, respect the opinions and suggestions of the people. Comrade Thai Thanh Quy also said that the province will issue a directive to create a legal corridor, speed up the progress of site clearance and related issues.

In addition, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested local press agencies to focus on disseminating the construction of the North-South Expressway to the masses; promptly commend good practices and good people, and criticize wrongdoings and violations of the law.

Speaking at the meeting, Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh believes that with the drastic participation and high sense of responsibility of all levels, sectors and localities, the problems and difficulties will soon be resolved. Photo: Dao Tuan

Speaking at the meeting, affirming that this is a key project of national strategic importance, Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh requested the Ministry of Transport and other sectors, units and localities to focus on accelerating the implementation progress. Drawing on experience from the previous implementation of the National Highway 1A construction project, the Provincial Party Secretary requested that the assigned departments and officers must work seriously and with a high sense of responsibility. Comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh proposed adding officers working in the inspection field and district police to participate in the Steering Committee and the project implementation support team in the locality.

The Provincial Party Secretary also agreed with the Provincial People's Committee's viewpoint on adjusting the width of the road to ensure smooth traffic. The head of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee believes that with the drastic participation and high sense of responsibility of all levels, sectors and localities, the project will not encounter too many difficulties during the implementation process. Nghe An province will strive to start the project on schedule in April 2020.