Around the article "Risk of unsafety at Khe Ran suspension bridge"

(Baonghean) - On July 24, 2014, Nghe An Newspaper published an article "Risk of unsafety at Khe Ran suspension bridge", stating some locations where the wooden bridge deck is damaged, affecting the traffic of people in the area.

On July 29, 2014, Construction Joint Stock Company 465 sent Official Dispatch No. 248/NC to Nghe An Newspaper, with the following content:

As a construction contractor, we would like to share some opinions with you as follows:

First of all, we would like to thank Nghe An Newspaper for paying attention to local traffic works, promptly reflecting on problems arising during the exploitation and use process to best serve the travel needs of the people, especially those in remote areas. However, the above article has some points that are not true to reality.

Khe Ran suspension bridge was constructed by Mechanical and Construction Joint Stock Company 465 (now Construction Joint Stock Company 465). The project was sold and put into use in March 2011. The project was accepted, warranty was removed and handed over to the management unit in August 2012.

During the construction process, the company has complied with the design requirements, strictly implemented the management process, and the materials and supplies brought into the project ensured quality requirements. Before the project was put into use, the Nghe An Traffic Project Management Board invited the Transport Company Limited (under the University of Transport) to conduct load testing and quality inspection of the project, and the results of all physical and mechanical indicators met the requirements.

Khe Ran suspension bridge is a semi-permanent construction, with a wooden deck structure. The bridge has been in use for 3 years and 5 months, in the harsh climate conditions of Western Nghe An, with a large number of people and goods passing through. To ensure safety and increase the life of the bridge, it needs to be maintained according to the correct procedures. It is known that throughout the entire exploitation process up to now, the bridge has not been repaired or maintained once, so the actual situation as mentioned in the article has occurred.

Construction Joint Stock Company 465 always determines that the quality of the project is the survival of the enterprise. Although the responsibility of the project warranty has expired, the company has participated in the inspections of the authorities in the past, the results of the inspections all commented that Khe Ran suspension bridge ensures quality and stability during operation.

We respectfully request that reporters and collaborators, when writing articles, consult experts to determine the exact cause of the incident, and not, for the purpose of writing articles, cause consequences that affect the production and business processes of contractors.

Nghe An Newspaper sincerely thanks Construction Joint Stock Company 465 for its attention and timely response to the issues raised by the newspaper. Regarding the contents of the dispatch, after requesting the author to explain and organize an inspection, Nghe An Newspaper would like to exchange as follows:

Firstly, after the suspension bridge collapse in Lai Chau province in late February 2014 that killed and injured many people, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued an official dispatch assigning the Department of Transport to inspect and review the current status of suspension bridges in the province to propose a solution. Immediately after that, the Editorial Board of Nghe An Newspaper received an article by contributor Tran Le: "Risk of unsafety at Khe Ran suspension bridge (Con Cuong)". Through verification from the grassroots, as well as through the report of the interdisciplinary inspection team established under Decision No. 927 of the Provincial People's Committee, regarding the assessment of Khe Ran suspension bridge, it was found that the bridge had degraded and proposed solutions for repairing the entire bridge as reflected in the article by contributor Tran Le, so the Editorial Board of Nghe An Newspaper decided to publish it. The content of the article accurately reflects the actual situation of Khe Ran bridge and has been acknowledged in Official Dispatch No. 248/NC of Construction Joint Stock Company 465, dated July 29, 2014: "During the entire exploitation process up to now, the bridge has never been repaired or maintained, so the situation as stated in the article has occurred."

Second, regarding the content of the document stating that: “... reporters and collaborators when writing news articles need to consult with experts to determine the exact cause of the incident, not for the purpose of writing articles that cause consequences affecting the production and business process of the contractor”. Regarding this issue, Nghe An Newspaper believes that the article “Risk of unsafety at Khe Ran suspension bridge (Con Cuong)” has accurately reflected the truth and aims to contribute more voices to the Provincial People's Committee, relevant departments, branches and local authorities to pay attention, arrange funds for maintenance and repair as well as build management processes to ensure safety for people to travel safely, especially to avoid bridge collapse incidents like in Lai Chau province. The entire content of the article does not mention the cause of Khe Ran bridge's deterioration nor does it attribute the cause of the bridge's deterioration to any individual or organization, so it cannot discredit and cause consequences to the production and business of the company as well as any individual or organization as Construction Joint Stock Company 465 claims.

Once again, Nghe An Newspaper sincerely thanks Construction Joint Stock Company 465 for its attention and timely response to the issues raised by the newspaper. Nghe An Newspaper hopes to continue to receive the attention and cooperation of the unit in the future, so that the newspaper becomes more and more attractive.

Construction Joint Stock Company 465 - Nghe An Newspaper