When will Vinh City have a new bus station?

(Baonghean) - The construction of the North and South bus stations in Vinh City are two important projects aimed at meeting the needs of road passenger transport and contributing to reducing traffic congestion in the inner city area. However, both projects are behind schedule compared to the requirements.

On May 30, 2011, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued Decision No. 25/QD.UBND on "Planning of the bus station system in Nghe An province until 2020," which clearly stated that the detailed plan for the bus station system of Vinh City until 2020 includes two bus stations: one in the North and one in the South of the city. In early 2013, the construction projects for the two bus stations officially commenced. Both projects are invested in by Nghe An Bus Station Joint Stock Company, with a scale of type 1 bus stations. The North bus station project (relocating Vinh Bus Station) covers nearly 4 hectares with a total investment of 273.7 billion VND. The South bus station is planned with an area of ​​4.6 hectares. According to the plan, both bus stations will be put into operation before April 30, 2015.

Vinh bus station (on Le Loi Street) is currently overloaded.

To date, one year has passed since the commencement of construction, which is half the planned time, but on the ground, both the North and South bus station construction projects in Vinh City have only completed the site leveling work. Other items are still "in the technical design documents," cost estimates, etc. Specifically at the North bus station, the construction of the fence (as of early November 2014) is still incomplete, despite being 3 months behind schedule. The South bus station project in Vinh City has made more progress, with the fence, transformer station, and landscaping completed. However, other items have not yet been constructed, and the investor has not fulfilled its commitments to the province. Mr. Tran Minh Thanh, General Director of Nghe An Bus Station Joint Stock Company, stated: “After more than a year of construction, the new North Bus Station has only reached 28 out of 120 billion VND (phase 1). The construction volume of the two projects has only reached 40% of the total project value. This progress is too slow, and completing and putting the two bus stations into operation before April 30, 2015 is very difficult.”

Meanwhile, the density of vehicles in the inner and outer areas of the city, particularly at the two current inner-city bus stations, Vinh Bus Station and Cho Vinh Bus Station, is increasing rapidly, significantly impacting traffic safety and urban civility. Regarding this aspect, Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung, Head of the Transport Department of the Department of Transport, said: “The delay in the construction of the two bus terminals in the North and South of Vinh City directly affects the pressing issue of traffic congestion and chaos, causing traffic disorder in the inner city. Given the large volume of passenger transport vehicles entering and leaving Vinh City, the cramped space of the current bus terminals has led to fixed-route transport vehicles picking up and dropping off passengers in unauthorized locations and failing to adhere to scheduled pick-up and drop-off times. This is not to mention the risk of environmental pollution in the inner city area. Furthermore, the delay in the construction of the two bus terminals in the North and South prevents the fulfillment of commitments between the investor, Nghe An Bus Terminal Joint Stock Company, and the Provincial People's Committee.”

What are the reasons for the delays in the construction of the two bus terminals in the North and South of Vinh City? Investigations reveal that: Since 2009, according to Decision 6241/QD-UBND of the province, the Vinh City bus terminal replanning project was approved for the first time by the Provincial People's Committee. In 2011, to meet practical requirements and align with the province's bus terminal system plan, the construction of the two bus terminals in the North and South was further adjusted by Decision No. 1999/QD-UBND of the province. However, compensation for land clearance for the project (0.6 hectares involved) at the North bus terminal has not been agreed upon due to the excessively high compensation rate of 720 million VND/sao (1 sao = 360 square meters), causing continued difficulties for both projects. In May 2013, the project to build two bus terminals was once again revised with Decision 6303/QD-UBND, which was approved by the province. According to the latest revision, the North Bus Terminal is planned to be built on a 3.9-hectare site on land already cleared according to the first planning. Mr. Nguyen Van Hoe, Head of the Construction Department of Nghe An Passenger Transport Joint Stock Company, said: “Objectively, the three revisions to the detailed planning of the two bus terminal projects to meet requirements have somewhat affected the project's implementation timeline and schedule.”

Through discussions with Mr. Tran Minh Thanh, General Director of Nghe An Bus Station Joint Stock Company, it was learned that: Recently, the State Capital Investment and Business Corporation (SCIC) implemented the Government's policy of selling the state's stake in the company. At the end of August 2014, although SCIC successfully attracted potential investors to participate in the bidding, it was slow to complete the procedures for transferring shares to the winning bidders, even though the investors had paid the full amount as per the auction regulations. This affected the two bus station construction projects, as this matter required approval at the 2014 annual shareholders' meeting. This is also one of the main reasons for the current delays in the construction of the two bus stations in the North and South of Vinh City.

Given the delays in the two projects, the public is questioning when Vinh City will have a new bus station. To facilitate the Nghe An Bus Station Joint Stock Company's continued investment in the two bus station construction projects in the North and South, and to accelerate construction progress for early completion and commissioning, in October 2014, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision 7762/UBND-GT on "Transfer of State Capital in Nghe An Bus Station Joint Stock Company". The province requested the State Capital Investment and Business Corporation (SCIC) to quickly complete the capital transfer to investors in October 2014; and requested relevant departments and agencies to coordinate and actively support the investor in resolving difficulties and obstacles to ensure the project is completed on schedule.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung, Head of the Transport Department of the Department of Transport, added: “Due to delays, the Provincial People's Committee has allowed an extension of 2 months for the completion of the North Bus Station, requiring the contractor to complete the project and put the North Bus Station into operation before June 30, 2015. For the South Bus Station, the extension will be 8 months, meaning it must be put into operation before December 31, 2015. The Transport sector will continue to monitor and urge the progress, while creating all conditions for the contractor to complete the two projects. The Nghe An Bus Station Joint Stock Company needs to focus on accelerating the construction progress to ensure it meets the province's planning requirements.”

Text and photos:Luong Mai