Vinh - Cua Lo Boulevard: Progress slows down... along with broken promises!
(Baonghean) - The provincial People's Committee has set several deadlines for the technical opening of the Vinh - Cua Lo highway, but after numerous extensions, the road is still not completed as planned.
Difficulties in land clearance
The Vinh - Cua Lo connecting road (phase 1) is nearly 11 km long, passing through Vinh City (3.4 km), Nghi Loc (4.8 km), and Cua Lo Town (2.632 km); the total investment for the project is 1,411 billion VND. The capital plan announced so far for the project is 981 billion VND, of which more than 934 billion VND has been disbursed.
On-site, the Department of Transport is directing contractors to focus on construction on sections where land has been cleared (8.6 km), coordinating with local authorities to clear remaining sections with outstanding issues in order to complete land handover before January 15, 2019. According to the investor, the contractors' construction progress is basically on schedule for the sections where land has been handed over, ensuring quality.
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| Perspective view of the Vinh - Cua Lo Boulevard project. |
However, the biggest obstacle is the section through Vinh City. According to the Department of Transport, 8.5 km out of 8.6 km of the roadbed has been completed; 8.6 km of the 9m wide section has been cleared, with Cua Lo and Nghi Loc towns having completed the handover; the remaining 2.2 km, concentrated in Vinh City, has yet to be cleared.
According to the project management board, if the provincial plan is followed correctly, the entire 10.83 km Vinh-Cua Lo road project will be completed by the end of 2018. However, as of 2019, only 8.6 km passing through Cua Lo town and Nghi Loc district have had their first layer of asphalt concrete laid. The remaining 2.2 km passing through Vinh City still lacks complete land clearance.
With the same mechanisms and policies, why is it that households affected and subject to relocation in Cua Lo town and Nghi Loc district have all agreed to hand over their land to the province for the construction of key transportation projects, while households in Nghi Phu and Nghi Duc communes (Vinh City) are still facing delays in relocation?Besides the unreasonable demands for excessively high compensation, could there be other reasons why residents are slow to hand over their land to the construction unit?
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| The Xuan Dong resettlement area in Nghi Duc, intended to resettle 200 households, remains unfinished after a long period of implementation. Photo: Thu Huyen |
Reportedly, in all land clearance meetings, the majority of opinions revolve around the issue of compensation prices and resettlement. Mr. Nguyen Van Toan, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghi Phu commune, Vinh City, said: "We have repeatedly planned land clearance, but the most difficult issue here is resettlement land. Without resettlement land, land clearance cannot be carried out. For example, the resettlement area for hamlets 5 and 21 in Nghi Phu commune has been planned for affected households for many years, but to date, Vinh City has not yet built the infrastructure there."
Vinh City has not yet taken decisive action.
According to assessments, many projects are currently being implemented in Vinh City, thus neglecting the land clearance process for the aforementioned project; the Land Fund Development Center has not been proactive enough and has not prioritized the project. Coordination among relevant departments of the Vinh City People's Committee has not been effective.
The process of reviewing the number of households and resettlement plots for adjusting the land subdivision plan, approving land prices, and allocating resettlement land to households has been slow and has not met requirements. The verification of land ownership, balancing of area, determination of population, and percentage of land to be reclaimed by the Nghi Phu Commune People's Committee are also slow.
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| The resettlement area in Hamlet 5, Nghi Phu (Vinh City) remains a farmland to this day. Photo: Thu Huyen. |
Regarding the agricultural land inventory in Nghi Phu commune, the lack of cooperation from residents necessitated forced inventory taking, leading to delays. The progress in resolving issues under the authority of the Vinh City People's Committee (such as guiding residents on inheritance division, adjusting cadastral map extracts, supplementing missing land plots with land prices, and resolving disputes between households) has been slow. These issues have not received sufficient attention from the City People's Committee, resulting in slow implementation.
According to Mr. Nguyen Huu An, Deputy Director of the Department of Transport, "For the section in Vinh City, if the land is available soon, the Department of Transport will focus its efforts on completing the project within 5 months and will open the road to traffic and finish paving the first layer of the section."
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| On-site inspection and verification of the implementation status of the Vinh - Cua Lo project. Photo: Thu Huyen |
Recently, at a meeting with departments, agencies, and localities to accelerate the progress of the Vinh - Cua Lo road project, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Huynh Thanh Dien emphasized: If Vinh City does not change its approach and does not act decisively, the progress will continue to be a cause for concern. The main task going forward is for the City People's Committee to organize propaganda and mobilization of households to accept compensation and hand over the land for the project. For households affected within the 9m radius, it is requested that a financial support plan be applied to build temporary houses and hand over the land as soon as possible, similar to what Nghi Loc district has done.
In addition, accelerate the construction of resettlement areas, ensuring completion as required. Focus on resolving obstacles to expedite land handover for the construction of Nghi Phu Primary School and the section through Nghi Duc commune... The Department of Transport should review connection points, signs, and marker posts... for completed sections to ensure traffic safety. The Departments of Construction, Natural Resources and Environment, Finance, and Planning and Investment should promptly address difficulties and obstacles according to their respective functions and responsibilities.
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| The final section of the Binh Minh - Cua Lo road project has been largely completed. Photo: Thu Huyen |
When will the "bottleneck" of land clearance for the project be resolved by Vinh City so that the road can be completed and put into use soon? According to Mr. Ha Thanh Tinh - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Vinh City, the city has issued a plan, specifically that the section through Nghi Duc commune must be completed by April 30, 2019, and the Nghi Phu section must be fully open by June 30, 2019.
However, this may remain just a promise if the city does not take decisive action to accelerate the land clearance process for the project. During previous inspections, meetings, and follow-up visits by provincial leaders regarding the progress of the Vinh-Cua Lo connecting road project, the leaders of the Vinh City People's Committee consistently promised a timeframe for land clearance and handover to the investor. However, the progress according to these promises has been "delayed."