Nghe An strives to hand over clean land for North-South expressway by the end of March

Proactive source of "supply" of landfill materials

Compared to other provinces, with the completion of bidding for additional soil and rock mine locations in the planning, it can be said that Nghe An has prepared enough materials for the North-South expressway through the area and currently only a few mines have completed legal procedures - said a representative of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

The North-South Expressway section from Nghi Son to Hoang Mai town has completed 7-10% of the volume. Photo: Contributor

Previously, due to concerns about the number of soil and rock mines used for highway construction, up to nearly 20 million m³and the mine auction procedure is quite complicated and time-consuming, soraw material shortageLandfilling affects construction progress, therefore, since the end of 2021, Project Management Board 6 and the Ministry of Transport have continuously urged the province to intervene, remove and cut procedures and time if possible to ensure project progress.

The service road to the landfill in Dien Loi commune (Dien Chau) is ready. Photo: Nguyen Hai

In early March, when we were present at Hung Trung commune (Hung Nguyen), we were informed by a representative of the Investment Project Management Board of Hung Nguyen district: Hung Trung is the earliest implementation point of the Dien Chau - Bai Vot component project through Hung Nguyen district. Currently, contractors are taking land to fill in for public roads and the section through Hung Trung commune has been cleared; in the near future, it will be deployed to Hung Tay and Hung Dao communes...

With the attention of the province and district, the resettlement area for households whose houses and land were recovered was built quite early. The location is beautiful, so after the province and district completed the relocation procedures and resettlement arrangements, from the end of 2021, people built new houses, and after Tet, their houses were dismantled to hand over to the project.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hai - Chairman of Hung Trung Commune People's Committee

The North-South Expressway section between Nghi Son and Hoang Mai town has taken shape. Photo: Nguyen Hai

Nghi Loc has 7.14 km of highway running through 4 communes and 374 households affected, agricultural land recovered, nearly 1 year ago the district has handed over the basic land and only stuck 150m. Currently, the district is only stuck with 1 household in Nghi Phuong commune, 1 household in Nghi Dong commune and 3 graves in Nghi Dong commune and the District Clearance and Compensation Board has come to work and mobilize.

Mr. Phung Ngoc Tu - Deputy Head of the District Department of Natural Resources and Environment

Currently, after completing the procedures to convert 23 hectares of forest land, the Nghi Loc District Forest Protection Management Board is allowing workers to exploit and clear trees on the land to hand over the site. Regarding raw materials, 2/3 of the quarry locations in Nghi Lam and Nghi Kieu communes have been bid for and a quarry at Len Doi, Nghi Yen commune has been increased in capacity.

The contractor is building a service road connecting N2 road to the Dien Loi commune quarry (Dien Chau) to fill the North-South expressway. Photo: Nguyen Hai

Meanwhile, in Dien Loi and Dien Phu communes (Dien Chau), contractors are gathering materials and building service roads connecting N2 road to the mine site in preparation for exploitation. Similarly, at the intersection of National Highway 7 and the North-South Expressway through Dien Cat commune, contractors are drilling geologically, weaving steel cages to prepare for pouring concrete and driving piles for the overpass foundation. Looking from this intersection, the shape of the expressway has basically taken shape.

Talking to us, representatives of the People's Committees of the districts confirmed: Up to this point, the resettlement areas for the expressway have basically been completed. In particular, the Compensation and Site Clearance Board of the component projectDien Chau - Bai Vot ExpresswayIssued Land Use Rights Certificates to resettled households in Dien Loi commune.

The overpass project on the expressway connecting with National Highway 48B through Quynh My Commune (Quynh Luu) has completed 80% of the work. Photo: Nguyen Hai

Meanwhile, in Quynh Luu district and Hoang Mai town, although delayed by 1.5 months due to power lines, the relocation and undergrounding of high-voltage power lines have been completed. Therefore, the expressway overpass at National Highway 48B in Quynh My commune and National Highway 48D (Route 36) in Hoang Mai town have completed 60-80% of the work and currently other contractors are building connecting roads to the expressway. The representative of the contractor constructing the overpass in Quynh My commune is excited: This intersection is part of the packageNghi Son - Dien Chau project,Although the progress was delayed by 1.5 months, due to early construction, the volume was greater. After moving the high-voltage line, the construction progress was faster and the handover was ahead of schedule in July 2023.

Continue to resolve newly arising problems

In addition to the above basic advantages, from the actual research at the construction site, there are some new emerging issues that need strong direction from the Provincial People's Committee. Engineer Tran Van Hoi, representative of the Construction Management Board at the National Highway 7 intersection in Dien Cat commune, shared: This intersection is constructed by Truong Son Joint Stock Company, with a length of only 900m including the National Highway 7 overpass and the length in both directions, but due to the 220 KV high-voltage power line above, the progress is quite slow; the unit deployed machinery and equipment since the end of last year but only drilled the foundation, geology and made iron cages but did not dare to erect piles because it was unsafe.

The North-South Expressway overpass intersection with National Highway 7 in Dien Cat Commune (Dien Chau) has not been able to move the 220 KV and 110 KV high-voltage power lines, so the contractor has not been able to construct the project, so they are mainly drilling for geological exploration and making steel cages. Photo: Nguyen Hai

From the actual field survey, Mr. Le Manh Hien - Vice Chairman of Dien Chau District People's Committee said: In addition to the intersections directly adjacent to the 220 KV or 110 KV high voltage power lines such as Dien Cat commune, there are currently some sections of the expressway that overlap with provincial roads and district roads that also have power lines above them, so if they have not been relocated, the contractor cannot construct. Although knowing that the procedures for relocating high voltage power lines are quite complicated, Dien Chau district hopes that provincial departments, branches and the Provincial People's Committee will actively and resolutely take action; recommend the Electricity sector to relocate the power lines soon for construction.

The Land Acquisition and Resettlement Board of Dien Chau district, part of the Dien Chau - Bai Vot expressway project, handed over certificates to households resettled on the expressway in Dien Loi commune. Photo: Contributor

Also in Quynh Luu district, there are currently 8 households in Quynh Lam commune who have not been measured and therefore cannot be compensated and relocated. According to contractors, relocating high-voltage power lines is not difficult, at Quynh My intersection it only takes 3 hours to complete, if coordinated and well prepared, there will be no prolonged power outages, affecting production and life.

After moving, the connecting cable also simultaneously buried the diagonal power line, making it quite clear. At the working session with Vietnam Electricity Group at the end of 2021, Mr. Phan Van Hoa - Director of the Department of Industry and Trade requested that the Electricity Group consider cutting off power and moving the high-voltage line in mid-to-late March or April to serve the construction of the expressway on schedule.

People in Hung Trung commune (Hung Nguyen) - where the expressway passes through, voluntarily dismantled their houses and handed over the land. Photo taken in early March 2022. Photo: Nguyen Hai

In addition to the above content, from the actual research in Hung Trung commune, there are 1.5 hectares of production land and Hung Dao commune has nearly 1 hectare of production land. If after the highway is put into use, it will be isolated and production will be difficult, so people request to take it back. This content, the departments, branches and districts have accepted, but once again the communes requested the province to consider and resolve for the people.

The high-voltage power line crossing the expressway overpass at the intersection with National Highway 48B, Quynh My Commune (Quynh Luu) after being cleared, so the construction progress is faster, making up for the time of delay. Photo: Nguyen Hai

Regarding the request of 17 households in Dien Doai commune (Dien Chau) regarding the compensation level for career conversion and job creation, according to the province's regulations, the maximum support level in Nghe An is 3 times, but the households want to be supported 5 times. Through many campaigns and dialogues, the People's Committee of Dien Chau district as well as departments and branches have clearly responded that this is not allowed. Therefore, on the one hand, the Provincial People's Committee is assigning the district to actively campaign and propagate for people to understand and comply, and return the land for the project, but on the other hand, it is directing the districts to review the documents and prepare plans for implementation according to the province's instructions.

The resettlement area for households relocated for the expressway in Hung Trung commune (Hung Nguyen) is considered the most standard and beautiful on the Dien Chau - Bai Vot route. Photo: Nguyen Hai

In Document No. 1090 dated February 22, 2022, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Hong Vinh directed the districts to strengthen mobilization and propaganda, strive to hand over the site for the project by March 15 and no later than March 30, 2022.

The North-South Expressway project through Nghe An has a length of 87.84 km with a total investment of nearly 7,500 billion VND with 2 sub-projects: Nghi Son (Thanh Hoa) - Dien Chau and Dien Chau - Bai Vot (Ha Tinh) with an approved site clearance cost of 3,498.9 billion VND, of which the Nghi Son - Dien Chau section is 1,787.55 billion VND; the Dien Chau - Bai Vot section is 1,711.35 billion VND. The capital allocated to the project is 2,503 billion VND, of which the capital allocated in 2021 is 555.249 billion VND. Currently, the Nghi Son - Dien Chau package has completed over 10% of the volume, so it has been included by the Ministry of Transport in the list of packages to be completed 1-3 months early.

Project Management Board 6, Ministry of Transport