People with cracked houses in Cua Lo are tired of waiting for compensation.

Road finished, house cracked

The Coastal Road Project through Nghe An is divided into 2 phases, of which phase 1 has a length of 7.442 km passing through Cua Lo Town and Nghi Loc District, with the starting point at Km 76+00 intersecting with National Highway 46, the end point at Km 83+500 intersecting with Provincial Road 535 (right at the foot of Cua Hoi Bridge). At this phase, the route through Nghi Loc District is only 1.09 km long and Cua Lo Town is 6.352 km long. The total investment is 521 billion VND, of which the central budget is 260 billion VND, the local budget is 261 billion VND. The project has been implemented since the end of July 2020, with the Nghe An Department of Transport as the investor and has been completed and put into use to date.

In Nghi Hoa ward, this route has affected 1,310 km of agricultural land and 30 households. In phase 1, Nghi Hoa ward was also one of the localities with slow site handover, affecting the overall progress of the project. Although phase 1 has been completed and put into use, many households in this locality have had their houses cracked during the construction process and have not yet been compensated.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Cuong, residing in Block 3, Nghi Hoa Ward, whose house is located right on the coastal road, said: Before the construction of Phase 1 of the Coastal Road Project, representatives of the investor, contractor and insurance company also came to inspect, made a full record and confirmed that the house had not been cracked or broken. However, during the construction process, due to many rollers operating continuously, the ground was shaken, causing Mr. Cuong's house to have cracks in the walls and ceiling, causing water to seep in every time it rained.
"After the construction was completed, we also reported the house cracking. At that time, the investor, contractor and insurance company came to inspect, recorded the cracking phenomenon and said they would compensate, but until now there has been no sign of compensation," Mr. Cuong said indignantly.

Similarly, Mr. Cuong's house is Mrs. Pham Thi Hien's house, with a fairly new, spacious 2-storey house located on the coastal road, also in block 3, Nghi Hoa ward. Mrs. Hien said: Her family finished the house in 2020, at a cost of nearly 2 billion VND, and right after that, the Coastal Road Project was implemented. During the construction process, seeing the roller operating continuously for many days, shaking the house and the door, her family was very worried that the house would crack.

Finally, Mrs. Hien's family's worries unfortunately became reality, when after many days of being "tortured" by the vibrating roller, the 2-storey house began to show cracks running horizontally and vertically across the walls of the 1st and 2nd floors. The cracks also caused the wall tiles to crack.

Although not located on the coastal road, more than 10m away from this road, the newly built flat-roofed house of Mr. Nguyen Huu Son's family in block 3, Nghi Hoa ward has also suffered serious cracks.

Mr. Son and his wife work as fishermen. After saving up for a while, they were able to build a flat-roofed house. However, during the construction of the coastal road, the roof and pillars of the house cracked, causing water to seep into the house when it rained.

Currently, Mr. Son's family only hopes that the responsible parties will compensate his family as well as other households in similar situations as soon as possible.

Waiting for check

In fact, we have found that the coastal road passing through Nghi Hoa ward has been named Chu Dong Tu street. Most of the households with cracked houses are located in block 3. Along both sides of this road, houses built after 2022 are lucky not to have cracks, while houses built before that time are more or less damaged. People confirmed that the houses with cracks aredue to the construction of the Coastal Road Project and the relevant parties have inspected and recorded the current status. In addition to being upset because they have not been compensated for a long time, people are also concerned that these cracks will affect the structure and safety of the house in the long run.

Ms. Le Thi Hang - one of the households whose houses were cracked and also representing the households who sent petitions to the authorities as well as related parties said: This project was constructed in 2020 and will be completed in early 2022. According to a survey by the people themselves, along both sides of Chu Dong Tu Street, there are about 20 houses with cracks due to the impact of road construction. Relevant units have visited each house to inspect, make records as a basis for compensation and promised to carry out compensation.

We asked whether, after the parties involved made a record confirming the house cracks, the households were given the record or not? Ms. Hang said that after they came to check, they took the record and left. Because they waited for a long time but did not see them return, the people had to call the ward, the town and report many times in voter meetings. However, up to now, they have not received a satisfactory answer.

According to Ms. Hang, waiting for a long time without any resolution, we are continuing to submit a petition to the People's Council of Nghe An province to request the responsible agency to promptly pay compensation for damages to the people.

Talking to us, Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung - Head of Project Department 3, Construction Project Management Board of Nghe An Department of Transport (investor of the Coastal Road Project) said: Currently, the project has been accepted, handed over and put into use. When people complained, the unit also coordinated with relevant parties to determine the extent of damage for handling...