In addition to the two projects that the World Bank considered corrupt, Louis Berger also designed the Dragon Bridge (Da Nang), the Hai Van Pass Tunnel, and the Red River Basin II Project.

The World Bank has just decided to ban Louis Berger Group (LBG, USA) from participating in contracts using its capital, due to its involvement in corruption in two projects in Vietnam. The "ban" period lasts for one year, and LBG's parent company is also restricted from bidding on World Bank projects.

Louis Berger is a global infrastructure and development company, founded in 1953 in the US, consisting of 3 units - Louis Berger Group, Louis Berger International and Louis Berger Services. The company currently has nearly 6,000 engineers, architects, scientists, economists in more than 100 offices in 57 countries around the world.

Louis Berger Group and Louis Berger International provide architectural, construction, project management, environmental planning and economic and scientific development consulting services. Louis Berger Services focuses on turnkey projects in the fields of energy, infrastructure, ground support services, maintenance and logistics.

Dragon Bridge is one of the projects in Vietnam with the participation of Louis Berger. Photo: Nguyen Dong

Louis Berger Group’s projects are mainly in the US. The company has served many large clients, including agencies under the US Department of State, Defense, Interior, Commerce, and many organizations such as the World Bank and ADB. Last week, they also received a $100 million traffic project contract from the city of Medina (Saudi Arabia).

Louis Berger has received numerous awards from Engineering News-Record and the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) - considered the Oscars of the engineering industry.

In Vietnam, the company has an office in Hai Chau District (Da Nang) and used to have an office in Hanoi. In addition to the two projects named by the World Bank as having violations, namely Rural Transport 3 and Priority Infrastructure Investment in Da Nang, the company also has three other projects: Dragon Bridge (Da Nang), Hai Van Pass Tunnel and Red River Basin II Project.

For the Dragon Bridge project, DNPC, Louis Berger and Ammann & Whitney participated as designers. This project was later awarded the Grand Award at the Engineering Excellence Award (EEA) ceremony organized by ACEC last year.

The total investment for the construction of Dragon Bridge is 1,498 billion VND (equivalent to 35 million USD) from the State budget with the implementation period from 2009-2012. In March 2013, the bridge was put into operation.

Hai Van Tunnel has a total investment capital of 133 million USD from a loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), opened in June 2005.

At the Hai Van Tunnel, Louis Berger International is a joint venture with Nippon Koei of Japan and Transport Engineering Design Corporation - TEDI of Vietnam as project management consultants. The five work categories of the consulting consortium include special survey, detailed design, bidding support, construction supervision, training and technology transfer.

Louis Berger oversaw on-site construction for four of the seven packages. These included the southern package with the main tunnel, the escape tunnel, and packages related to mechanical and electrical systems. Louis Berger also provided designs for future tunnel expansions. According to the company, the Hai Van Tunnel project was completed on time and within budget.

Louis Berger is also involved in the Red River Basin II Project, supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has selected the firm to oversee the irrigation, flood control, drainage and river basin protection system. In addition, they are involved in training Vietnamese engineers in modern technology; drafting documents on water use, irrigation and drainage; working with research institutes on opportunities to improve river basin governance; and helping cooperatives build canals, water pumps and viaducts.

In October 2010, Louis Berger Group was fined $69.3 million for allegedly billing the government for expenses unrelated to reconstruction projects in Afghanistan. This was the largest fine ever paid by a contractor in a war zone to the U.S. government.

According to VNE