The roads are in terrible condition, and the cost of transporting building materials for the Dan Lai people's houses is double the price of the materials themselves.
The construction of housing for poor and disadvantaged households of the Dan Lai ethnic minority in Mon Son commune (Con Cuong district) is currently facing difficulties due to deteriorated roads and the cost of transporting materials being nearly double the cost of purchasing them.
On the morning of April 10th, we joined a delegation from the People's Committee of Mon Son commune and the Mon Son Border Guard Post to visit Khe Bung and Co Phat villages in Mon Son commune. These two villages are home to 100% Dan Lai ethnic people and are also located in the core area of Pu Mat National Park.
The distance from the center of Mon Son commune to the two villages of Khe Bung and Co Phat is over 20 km, and it is a single-lane road.
Currently, this road is undergoing renovation and upgrading under a public investment project, with 5 km already completed. The remaining 15 km are still in a severely degraded condition, being steep, muddy, and slippery, making it very difficult for people and motorbikes to travel during rainy weather, and cars cannot access it.
Consequently, the cost of transporting agricultural products, raw materials, and supplies is often much higher than the market average.
Meeting a truck carrying cement, iron, and steel materials to Co Phat village to build houses for residents under the housing support program for poor and disadvantaged households on the Mon Son - Co Phat road, construction contractor Nguyen Van Nam said that the average price for transporting materials by truck from the center of Mon Son commune to Co Phat village is 2 million VND.
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For cement alone (1 ton of cement costs approximately 1.5 - 1.6 million VND), the transportation cost from Mon Son Commune People's Committee to Co Phat village is 2.5 million VND. Therefore, the cost of building a house in remote areas is double, or even triple, that of houses in more developed locations.
In addition, the cost of hiring laborers and construction workers is also higher. "In central areas, construction workers earn around 400,000 VND/day, but in remote, difficult-to-access areas like Co Phat, it can be 500,000 - 600,000 VND/day," Mr. Nam added.
Mr. La Van Phuong from Khe Bung village said that his family received government support to build a house worth 60 million VND. Besides bamboo and rattan, which the family could provide themselves for doors and partitions, other materials had to be purchased from the Mon Son commune center.
"The transportation costs are very expensive, even more than the cost of buying iron and steel. When the family needs materials like bricks or roofing sheets, we have to go by motorbike ourselves and ask neighbors to help transport them because the transportation costs are too high," Mr. Phuong said.
Regarding the difficulties in transporting building materials for the villagers, the leader of Mon Son commune stated that the commune government has planned to mobilize social resources and local forces to transport raw materials in order to minimize costs and ensure the completion of houses for the villagers, with a budget of 60 million VND per house.
In addition, Mon Son commune and Con Cuong district are also researching house designs that are suitable for the customs and traditions of the local people and within the allocated budget.
The People's Committee of Con Cuong district has also reported and requested the Provincial People's Committee to consider increasing the support level for building new houses and repairing existing ones for Dan Lai ethnic minority households, helping the locality and people complete the project on schedule before July 31, 2025. The District People's Committee will also direct the mobilization of maximum resources, units, localities, and social contributions to resolutely achieve the set goals.
