Land clearance for the National Highway 7 upgrade project is in disarray.

Multiple bottlenecks

The project to renovate and upgrade National Highway 7, section Km0 - Km36, and address landslides caused by storms and floods in the Khe Thoi - Nam Can section, was approved by the Ministry of Transport in Decision No. 333/QD-BGTVT dated March 18, 2022. The project has a total investment of over 1,300 billion VND, with a total length of 27.5 km, passing through Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, and Do Luong districts.

The project is divided into 3 construction packages: XD01; XD02; and XD03, with a total value of 778.724 billion VND (including contingency costs). According to the report of Project Management Board 4 - the project investor's representative, by the end of mid-July 2024, the construction value reached 531.603/714.785 billion VND (excluding contingency costs), achieving a rate of 74.37%. Specifically, package XD01 achieved a production volume of 189.676/261.124 billion VND; package XD02 achieved a production volume of 123.890/178.204 billion VND; and package XD03 achieved a production volume of 218.037/275.456 billion VND.

Currently, the disbursed capital for the project in 2024 is VND 102.256 billion, including VND 80.285 billion for land clearance; VND 21.971 billion for construction; and some consulting and project management costs...

However, by the end of mid-July, localities had handed over approximately 52.844km/55.405km of land (reaching 95.37%), including both left and right sides of the route. Of these, Dien Chau district still has about 1.2km of land remaining to be handed over; Yen Thanh district about 1.092km; and Do Luong district still has about 200m of land yet to be handed over.

The section passing through Dien Chau district, including both sides of the route, has a length of 18.36 km, traversing Dien Chau town and the communes of Dien Thanh, Dien Phuc, Dien Cat, and Minh Chau. Currently, except for Dien Chau town, which does not require land acquisition because the land clearance boundary does not affect residential land plots of households and individuals, the remaining communes are all facing land acquisition issues.

In particular, in Minh Chau commune, 12 out of 77 plots of land have not yet been handed over. The reason is that households are demanding compensation for land outside the area specified in their land use right certificates, and are also demanding compensation for land allocated illegally within the traffic corridor but for which they have not yet been issued certificates.

In Dien Cat commune, 20 out of 108 land plots in hamlets 2B and 4 are still facing land clearance issues. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Huy, Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, stated that among the 20 cases, 3 households have land related to the National Highway 7 upgrade and expansion project implemented in 2011, where land was reclaimed but only property compensation was provided, and the land area of ​​the residents remained unchanged. Eight households had already cut off a portion of their land for the traffic corridor before transferring or gifting it, and the remaining 9 households still have the full area as stated in their land certificates, with the cleared portion located within the traffic corridor, yet these households still refuse to hand over the land.

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The commune has also established propaganda and mobilization teams, but the households still do not comply. Therefore, the commune has requested the district to develop a plan to protect the construction site in cases where the violations are clear, in order to expedite the handover of the land to the construction unit.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Huy - Chairman of the People's Committee of Dien Cat Commune

In Dien Chau district, there is still an unfinished railway overpass project in Dien Phuc commune. According to the design, the overpass has 2 lanes and 8 spans. However, based on our observations, the bridge piers on the east side of the railway have been installed, but the western side remains unfinished, with some piers still incomplete. Located right in the middle of National Highway 7, this location has caused serious traffic congestion, especially with the sudden increase in the number of vehicles using this route to access the North-South Expressway.

In Yen Thanh district, the localities with the most land clearance issues are Vien Thanh commune with approximately 10 plots and My Thanh commune with 38 plots (as of mid-July). Similarly, in Do Luong district, although the District Compensation and Land Clearance Council provided construction protection for 9 households in Luu Son commune on June 18, 2024, according to the investor's report, these 9 households are still obstructing construction and have not handed over the land for the 2-meter-wide sidewalk.

Late again.

Mr. Hoang Van Chau, Deputy Director of Project Management Board 4, stated that although land clearance work in the districts has improved and achieved some results, the progress remains slow, despite strong directives from the Provincial People's Committee. This is affecting the project's completion schedule.

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Due to the discontinuous handover process, in some sections only one household has been handed over, with a road frontage length of about 10 meters, making it very difficult to bring in machinery and equipment for construction.

Mr. Hoang Van Chau - Deputy Director of Project Management Board 4

In fact, the Provincial People's Committee has held numerous meetings and issued many directives, assigning the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to lead and establish an inter-agency task force to guide localities. Most recently, the Provincial People's Committee issued Notice No. 454/TB-UBND dated June 18, 2024. Despite this, the results of compensation and land clearance work in the districts where the project passes through have not met the requirements, affecting the overall progress of the project and the disbursement of funds by the investor.

Due to delays in land handover affecting the overall progress of the project, on July 22nd, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued Official Letter No. 6112/UBND-CN regarding the resolution of outstanding issues and obstacles related to compensation and land clearance for the National Highway 7 upgrade project, addressed to relevant departments, agencies, and localities.

Accordingly, the Provincial People's Committee requested the People's Committees of the districts through which the project passes to coordinate with the investor and seriously implement the directives of the Provincial People's Committee. The entire political system should be mobilized to disseminate information and encourage people to comply with the State's policies and guidelines, making them understand the importance and significance of the project and gain their consensus for its implementation. At the same time, resources and manpower should be concentrated to complete the compensation and land clearance work by July 2024.

Regarding the People's Committee of Dien Chau District, the Provincial People's Committee requests that priority be given to handing over the land to Mr. Nguyen Van Duyen, Mr. Nguyen Van Linh, and Mr. Cao Van Khoa on the left side of National Highway 7, west of the railway, in order to allow sufficient time for the construction of the railway overpass (this is a critical path of the project) according to the schedule extended by the Ministry of Transport (November 2024).

At the same time, organize efforts to protect the construction of sections of the route that are being obstructed by local residents in the communes of Dien Thanh, Dien Phuc, Dien Cat, and Minh Chau; completing this no later than July 2024.

In Yen Thanh district, the Provincial People's Committee requested the local authorities to direct communes to be more proactive and decisive in mobilizing people to hand over land, especially those households that have already had dialogues with the District People's Committee and received clear conclusions on compensation and support.

For some households that are not eligible for compensation or whose land, according to the survey, is not affected by the project scope but has not yet handed over the land, the District People's Committee is requested to focus on organizing persuasion and protecting the construction site; completing this no later than July 2024.

Specifically for Do Luong district, since only about 200 meters of the road still pass through the land of Mr. Nguyen Tat Thuong's family (Hoa Son commune), the Do Luong District People's Committee needs to develop a plan for compulsory land acquisition in this case to hand over the site to the construction unit, to be completed by July 2024.

In addition, the Provincial People's Committee also directed relevant departments and agencies to closely coordinate with the People's Committees of the districts, investors, etc., to provide guidance within their authority or advise the Provincial People's Committee on solutions to definitively resolve existing problems and obstacles.

However, despite the deadline set by the Provincial People's Committee, the land clearance for the National Highway 7 renovation and upgrade project remains incomplete. It is time for local authorities to be more decisive in land clearance. Continuing to miss deadlines will significantly impact many aspects, from environmental sanitation and traffic safety to the risk of having to scale back the project...