'Revealing' violations in Dong Dau Urban Area Project

BILLION-DOLLAR VIOLATIONS

According to sources, around 2013 - 2014, the Provincial People's Committee directed an inspection of the recording of State budget revenues and expenditures for real estate investment projects in Vinh City. The Dong Dau Urban Area Project combined with housing for low-income people in Hung Dung Ward (Vinh City) (hereinafter referred to as the Dong Dau Urban Area Project) invested by Dai Hue Commercial Construction Investment Joint Stock Company is on the inspection list.

On April 18, 2014, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee issued Inspection Conclusion No. 178/KL-UBND on the recording of State budget revenues and expenditures for real estate investment and business projects in Vinh City. The Provincial People's Committee concluded that there were violations in the Dong Dau Urban Area Project, and forced Dai Hue Investment, Construction and Trade Joint Stock Company to pay VND 7,399,536,148 to the province's temporary account pending settlement.

The 36m road cutting across Dong Dau Urban Area has not been invested in construction. Photo: NL

Also according to the source, in the Inspection Conclusion No. 178/KL-UBND, the Provincial People's Committee assigned the Department of Finance to specifically and accurately calculate the amount of money the State must provide to Dai Hue Investment, Construction and Trade Joint Stock Company. The reason is that this Company has advanced funds to pay compensation and support for the land area serving other purposes of Vinh city when implementing the Dong Dau Urban Area Project. Including land for traffic roads, it is 10,985.8m2.²(2,840.3 m²Construction of Ton That Tung Street, 8,145.5 m²construction of 36m planned road); resettlement land 3,312.6m²; land for building apartment complex for low-income people 7,063.4m²After calculation, the Department of Finance is responsible for advising the Provincial People's Committee to decide on the issuance and payment to Dai Hue Investment Construction and Trade Joint Stock Company.

In order to carry out the tasks assigned by the Provincial People's Committee, the Department of Finance has calculated and determined the amount of compensation and support that Dai Hue Investment and Construction Trading Joint Stock Company has advanced to pay for the land areas serving other purposes of Vinh city is more than 8.66 billion VND. Regarding this amount, in principle, Dai Hue Investment and Construction Trading Joint Stock Company will only be re-granted from the State budget after the project items are built on the land area of ​​21,361.8 m²completed and put into use. Therefore, in 2015, the joint Inspectorate - Finance - Provincial Tax Department agreed to propose the Provincial People's Committee to allow Dai Hue Investment Construction and Trade Joint Stock Company to extend the delay in paying into the province's temporary account pending processing the amount of 7,399,536,148 VND.

Current status of Dong Dau Urban Area. Photo: NL

However, up to now, more than 8 years have passed since the time the Provincial People's Committee Chairman issued Inspection Conclusion No. 178/KL-UBND, the Dong Dau Urban Area Project has expired its investment implementation period. However, some items have not been invested in construction or have been unfinished, the technical infrastructure is not synchronous, and has not been fully connected to the common infrastructure in the area... Therefore, after being approved by the Provincial People's Committee, at the end of 2022, the Provincial Inspectorate issued Decision No. 624/QD.TTR to inspect the compliance with the law at the Dong Dau Urban Area Construction Project invested by Dai Hue Investment, Construction and Trade Joint Stock Company.

“The inspection content is to urge and handle after the inspection the Inspection Conclusion No. 178/KL-UBND in 2014 of the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee. As far as I know, the inspection has ended. Up to now, the related construction items of the Dong Dau Urban Area Project are still unfinished or have not been implemented; while the investor has not yet paid the amount of violations clarified by the Provincial People's Committee in 2014 into the temporary account pending handling….” - the source confirmed.

PROVINCIAL INSPECTORATE CONTINUES TO URGES

Regarding the Dong Dau Urban Area Project, in April 2022, Nghe An Newspaper researched and reflected in the article "Gloomy Dong Dau”. At this time, the project’s technical infrastructure was extremely weak. Many roads and all sidewalks had not been built by the investor. The low-voltage power lines, according to the approved plan, had to be underground but were built above ground with two types of concrete poles (round and stepped) close to the residential buildings, with all kinds of tangled wires hanging from them.

Cover of the article "Gloomy Dong Dau" on Nghe An Electronic Newspaper.

The project has dozens of households building houses and creating sidewalks for entrances and exits. However, the houses and sidewalks are built according to the preferences of each householder, so they are messy and unsightly. Along with many abandoned plots of land full of grass, bushes, trash, etc.; social housing areas, meeting halls, and supermarkets that have not been built, the Dong Dau Urban Area project is in a shabby, gloomy state.

At present, through inspection work according to Decision No. 624/QD.TTR, the Provincial Inspectorate determined that the project has leveled the ground; constructed a domestic water supply system, connected the source and installed a total meter; constructed an above-ground domestic power supply system (not underground as planned), and the internal lighting system has only been constructed on the extended Ton That Tung road. Regarding the roads, the foundation has been built, the foundation has been constructed, and the asphalt has been paved on the road surface of the planned roads of 16m, 15m, 12m, 10.5m, 9m; the planned roads of 36m, 24m and 18m have not been constructed; and the sidewalks of all planned roads have not been constructed.

The drainage ditches have been identified as having been constructed but not completed according to the plan (some routes have not been constructed such as route M1-M2, the ditch line adjacent to the 36m planned road, route M6-M7...) and have not been connected to the general drainage system of the area. Housing projects, apartment buildings for low-income people, supermarkets, and cultural houses have not been built.

Road in front of the abandoned supermarket construction site. Photo: NL

Regarding the amount of 7,399,536,148 VND that the Provincial People's Committee forced Dai Hue Investment, Construction and Trade Joint Stock Company to pay into a temporary account pending processing, the Provincial Inspectorate has also dissected, clarified and urged for processing. Specifically, for the land area for the construction of the Apartment Complex for low-income people with an area of ​​7,063.39 m², according to the compensation support price from the State budget determined by the Department of Finance in Document No. 242/STC-QLG&CS dated February 12, 2014 is 405,438.89 VND/m²; therefore, the corresponding support amount is 2,863,773,000 VND. Since the investor has not invested in the construction of this item; at the same time, the project has now expired, so there is no basis for the State budget to refund, so the investor must pay the State budget 2,863,773,000 VND. During the inspection, on December 29, 2022, the investor paid 1.35 billion VND to the province's temporary account pending processing. Therefore, the Provincial Inspectorate requires the investor to fully pay the remaining amount of 1,513,773,000 VND before December 31, 2023.

With the construction area of ​​resettlement area (area 3,312m²), has basically completed the technical infrastructure system; on December 2, 2022, the investor issued Document No. 09/DH to hand over 24 resettlement plots with a total area of ​​3,312m²to the Vinh City People's Committee. Therefore, the Company has grounds to prepare a dossier requesting the competent authority to refund the compensation and support fund of VND 1,342,813,000. However, before receiving the refund from the State budget, the investor is responsible for depositing the corresponding amount of funds into the temporary account pending processing.

Current status of Dong Dau Urban Area. Photo: NL

For the area of ​​2,840.3m²construction of the extended Ton That Tung Street, which the investor has invested in and basically completed and put into use. Therefore, after handing over to the City People's Committee for management, the investor has grounds to prepare a dossier requesting the competent authority to refund the compensation and support costs that the investor has advanced, which is 1,151,568,000 VND. However, before receiving the refund from the State budget, the investor is responsible for depositing the corresponding amount of funds into the temporary account pending processing of the Provincial Inspectorate.

For area 8,145.5m²In the construction of the 36m planned road, the investor leveled the ground, made the roadbed, constructed the drainage system along the road, but did not construct the road surface. After that, the Provincial Management Board of Investment and Construction of Civil and Industrial Works implemented the project to invest in the construction of new drainage ditches along both sides of the 36m road, so the ditch system built by the investor was demolished. According to the Provincial Inspectorate, for this item, the investor needs to coordinate with relevant agencies to carry out investment and construction to ensure compliance with the approved detailed project planning and the current 36m road planning. Because the investor has not constructed the 36m planned road surface, and is not qualified to hand over to the Vinh City People's Committee for management, there is no basis to consider approving the delay in paying the remaining amount of 2,041,382,148 VND. The Provincial Inspectorate requires the investor to deposit this amount of violation into the province's temporary account pending processing before December 31, 2024.

Perspective of Dong Dau Urban Area project. Photo: NL