Residents whose houses in Cua Lo are suffering from cracks are weary of waiting for compensation.

The road is finished, but the houses are cracked.

The coastal road project through Nghe An province is divided into two phases. Phase 1, with a length of 7.442 km, passes through Cua Lo town and Nghi Loc district, starting at Km 76+00 intersecting with National Highway 46 and ending at Km 83+500 intersecting with Provincial Road 535 (right at the foot of Cua Hoi bridge). In this phase, the section through Nghi Loc district is only 1.09 km long and through Cua Lo town is 6.352 km long. The total investment is 521 billion VND, of which 260 billion VND comes from the central government budget and 261 billion VND from the local government budget. Construction began in late July 2020, with the Nghe An Department of Transport as the investor, and it has now been completed and put into use.

In Nghi Hoa ward, this road project has affected 1,310 km of agricultural land and 30 households. During phase 1, Nghi Hoa ward was also one of the localities with slow land handover, affecting the overall progress of the project. Although phase 1 has been completed and put into use, many households in the area whose houses cracked during construction have not yet received compensation.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Cuong, residing in Block 3, Nghi Hoa Ward, whose house is located right on the coastal road, said: Before the first phase of the Coastal Road Project began construction, representatives from the investor, contractor, and insurance company inspected the site, drew up a full report, and confirmed that his house had not cracked. However, during construction, due to the continuous operation of many road rollers, the ground vibrated, causing cracks in the walls and ceiling of Mr. Cuong's house, resulting in water leakage every time it rains.
"After the construction was completed, we reported the cracks in the house. At that time, the investor, the construction contractor, and the insurance company came to inspect, recorded the cracks, and said they would compensate us, but we haven't seen any compensation yet," Mr. Cuong said angrily.

Similarly, Mr. Cuong's house belongs to Ms. Pham Thi Hien, a spacious and relatively new two-story house located along the coastal road, also in Block 3, Nghi Hoa Ward. Ms. Hien said: Her family finished building the house in 2020, at a cost of nearly 2 billion VND, and shortly after, the Coastal Road Project was implemented. During construction, seeing the road roller operating continuously for many days, shaking the house and doors, her family was very worried that the house would crack.

Ultimately, Mrs. Hien's family's anxieties unfortunately came true. After days of being "tortured" by the vibrating roller, cracks began to appear horizontally and vertically across the walls of the first and second floors of their two-story house. The cracks even caused the wall tiles to crack as well.

Although not located directly on the coastal road, more than 10 meters away from it, 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. and Mrs. Son work as fishermen. After saving up for some time, they built a flat-roofed house. However, during the construction of the coastal road, the roof and pillars of their house cracked, causing water to seep into the house whenever it rains.

Currently, Mr. Son's family only hopes that the relevant parties will take responsibility and provide compensation as soon as possible to his family and other households facing similar circumstances in the surrounding area.

Waiting for inspection

From our observations, we found that the coastal road passing through Nghi Hoa ward has been named Chu Dong Tu Road. The majority of households with cracked houses are located in Block 3. Along both sides of this road, houses built after 2022 are relatively unaffected by cracks, while those built before that time have suffered some degree of damage. Residents confirm that their houses are cracking.These cracks are due to the construction of the Coastal Road Project and have been inspected and documented by relevant parties. In addition to being frustrated by the long delay in receiving compensation, residents are also concerned that these cracks will eventually affect the structure and safety of their houses.

Ms. Le Thi Hang, one of the households whose houses were cracked and who also represented the residents in submitting a petition to the authorities and relevant parties, stated: "This project started in 2020 and was completed in early 2022. According to surveys conducted by the residents themselves, along both sides of Chu Dong Tu road, there are more than 20 houses with cracks due to the road construction. The relevant units have visited each house to inspect, draw up reports as a basis for compensation, and promised to provide compensation."

We questioned whether the residents received a copy of the report after the relevant parties had documented the house cracks. Ms. Hang stated that they simply took the report and left after the inspection. Because they didn't return after a long wait, the residents had to appeal to the ward and town authorities, and repeatedly raised the issue during meetings with constituents. However, to this day, they have yet to receive a satisfactory answer.

According to Ms. Hang, having waited a long time without a resolution, they are continuing to submit a petition to the Nghe An Provincial People's Council to request that the responsible agency promptly pay compensation for damages to the people.

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