Nghe An people 'overcome the sun and rain' on the 500kV project
In the scorching sun, in the dry wind stirring up white dust, in thick layers of clothes and hats, soaked with sweat, the workers constructing the 500kV power line in Nghe An province are working hard to keep up with the project's progress.
In the scorching sun, in the dry wind stirring up white dust, in thick layers of clothes and hats, soaked with sweat, the workers constructing the 500kV power line in Nghe An province are struggling to keep up with the project's progress.
SINGLE GOAL
Only by witnessing it with your own eyes can you fully appreciate the difficulties and hardships of the team of engineers and workers.500kV line circuit 3must overcome when constructing a project. Some people feel burned from holding on to hot steel bars, some stagger when carrying blocks of materials up the hill, some have eyes stinging from sweat... Exhausted but no one stops until the job is done, no one leaves their assigned position.
To reach the construction site of pile 355 in Nghi Kieu commune (Nghi Loc), workers have to travel about 500m on a hilly road. The distance is not too far but it is steep, narrow, and sandy. If you go by motorbike, it must be a manual one, in first gear, and only one person can go at a time. On rainy days, this road is slippery, workers can only walk from the foot of the hill. And this is not the most dangerous construction.
Among the workers working here, there are 6 women. They are subcontractors, taking on concrete work. Wiping away her sweat, worker Phan Thi Thuy shared: “I have been working here for over a month. Every day I wake up at 5am, it takes about 1 hour to get here from my house in Yen Thanh. In the evening, I go back to Yen Thanh, it takes another hour. If I get home early, I get home at 8pm. There are days when I pour concrete for the foundation, I stay until 2am to finish, then go home and rest a bit and come back early the next morning to work.”
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In the conversation with Ms. Thuy and her colleagues, I heard about the hardships that only those involved could understand. Those were the days when the work did not go smoothly, when the water ran out while mixing… the concrete could not be poured as planned; The times of climbing up and down the foundation deep underground, stuffy and hot; The rainy days, the already steep path up the mountain became even more slippery, struggling to carry things, falling up and down…
Not having to travel far like Ms. Thuy, worker Ho Van Thinh lives right in Hamlet 3, Nghi Kieu Commune, and has been involved in the 500kV Circuit 3 project since the first days of construction. The hardships of a worker's life are deeply imprinted in the corners of his eyes and mouth, making this worker look much older than his age of over 50. "The work here is very hard, if you don't work hard, you can't do anything. I was assigned tasks such as pumping water, stringing electric wires, loading cement onto machines, moving materials from one location to another... During these hot days, the hardships are multiplied," worker Ho Van Thinh confided. As soon as he finished speaking, Mr. Thinh hurriedly returned to work to transport the materials to his colleagues who were working on pile foundations 10m deep from the ground.
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Also in Nghi Kieu commune, on a nearly completed electric pole, workers are reinforcing the steel with giant screws. The intense heat makes the metal bars hot and the workers’ faces red.
Sharing the hardships of the workers and engineers of the 500kV line, many delegations from functional agencies, departments and branches came to give gifts of encouragement. Although they were very grateful and happy, these workers could not receive them properly. They could only chat briefly and then return to work immediately. Time and progress did not wait for them. They had only one choice: to complete the work as best and as quickly as possible.
"SPIDER-MAN" TEAM NGHE
At the VT438 pole construction site, the members of the electrical installation team are mainly from Nghe An, although the work unit is based in Ho Chi Minh City. With their abilities, they have built and connected electricity to many famous projects. This time, although the project is right in their hometown, they can only connect with their families via phone.
The leader of this construction team is Mr. Le Dinh Hao - Captain of the Power Construction Team 3 - PC1 Southern Joint Stock Company (from Quynh Tam commune, Quynh Luu district). Under him are nearly 100 engineers and workers, of which 80% are from Nghe An. Explaining this, Mr. Hao said: “As a Nghe An native, I always feel confident and secure with the character of my hometown people. That is why I tend to recruit fellow countrymen. Most of these people were born and raised in hardship, know how to be hard-working, diligent, united, and share with each other. When we reconnect, we will be a strong collective.”
The strong collective that Mr. Hao mentioned has completed the highest lines in Southeast Asia, the line across the sea to Phu Quoc Island, important lines in the socio-economic development of Vietnam... The strong collective has typical members who are known as "spider men" and have been awarded many times such as Deputy Team Leader Dinh Trong Tinh, Team Leader Hoang Van Minh, worker Tran Quoc Huy... Up to this point, their strong collective is also the only unit in Vietnam to be trained abroad in the skill of pulling 4 wires at the same time, instead of 2 wires like other units.
“Among our jobs, dropping and stretching the ropes is the hardest. In hot weather, we hang for hours on cables, at dizzying heights, and must be extremely focused and calm to ensure there are no mistakes. Just one minute of distraction can lead to damage to the work and endanger lives. To ensure safety and progress, we maintain a military lifestyle, working from 5am to 6:30pm, only hanging around the camp and construction site. That’s why even though we work right in our hometown, we can’t go home,” Hao shared.
The image of his teammates and brothers “hanging” on electric wires in the blue sky is also the image that makes Mr. Hao the most emotional every time he sees it. From those emotions, the Team Leader has a very good way to motivate and encourage everyone. In addition to ensuring life and building a reward system, he also uses flycam and camera to record dangerous working moments and everyone's dedication. After that, he collects and publishes them into short clips with enthusiastic, cheerful music, conveying the spirit of excitement and enthusiasm on the construction site. After more than 20 years of working in the profession, the valuable images he has collected have become a valuable archive of the unit and the industry.
Understand the Prime Minister's directive spirit and the significance of500kV lineThese days, we are trying to "overcome the sun, overcome the rain", working "3 shifts, 4 teams", working "24/24 hours close to the construction site", to urgently complete the project on schedule. There are days when we have to work continuously, having lunch at 3 pm. The pressure and hardship are great, but after each morning meeting, every time we see the completed project, we feel excited. When we come home at night, we are together like a family, sharing family and life stories, and all the fatigue disappears", Mr. Hao confided.
