Nghe An provincial leaders inspect resettlement work to serve the high-speed railway project
On September 9, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Phu Hien went to the field to inspect the resettlement preparation for the North-South high-speed railway project passing through the province. This is one of the key items, which is decisive to the progress of the national key project.
According to the pre-feasibility report, the North-South high-speed railway has a total length of about 1,541 km, passing through 15 provinces and cities, with a design speed of 350 km/h, with 23 passenger stations and 5 freight stations. The section through Nghe An alone is 85.5 km long, passing through 18 communes and wards.
The project implementation will affect about 2,150 households, of which more than 1,940 households will have to relocate and resettle. To meet this need, Nghe An plans to build about 30 resettlement areas with an area of nearly 103 hectares, with a total cost of approximately VND 1,450 billion. This is a large amount of work, requiring the synchronous coordination of many levels, sectors and localities.
Of the 18 communes and wards on the route, up to now, 7 units have approved the policy of surveying the location to establish a resettlement area plan, 5 units have approved the survey and marker placement task outline, and 3 units have selected a consulting unit to establish and appraise the detailed plan.
During the trip, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Phu Hien directly surveyed Hoang Mai Ward (Hoang Mai Town), Quynh Luu, Minh Chau, Duc Chau, Tan Chau, Than Linh, Hung Nguyen and Hung Nguyen Nam communes. The remaining communes on the route also focused on reporting progress. Through the inspection, comrade Hoang Phu Hien acknowledged the efforts of the local authorities in closely following the province's direction, promptly propagating so that people clearly understand the significance of the project, and at the same time, collecting community opinions to determine resettlement locations, creating high consensus among the people.
The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee emphasized the viewpoint: "The resettlement site must be better and more convenient than the old place of residence." Accordingly, the planning must ensure reasonable area, location, infrastructure and utilities for the people. The land plots must be arranged squarely, maximizing the use of functions. For locations that are difficult to plan, the locality needs to choose other more convenient locations.
The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also requested the Department of Construction to promptly give comments to localities on existing plans, to speed up approval and implementation as soon as possible. Places that meet the conditions need to focus on land acquisition, estimated payment costs and construction in each phase, to facilitate the balancing of capital sources.
Comrade Hoang Phu Hien noted that localities that have not yet established a Project Management Board should hire a consulting unit to promptly implement investment procedures. For locations with proposed route adjustments, the province has reported to the Government and relevant ministries and branches. However, for now, localities must implement according to the current route direction, while also having backup plans in case of adjustments.
“The most important thing is that localities must closely follow the province's direction, ensuring the timelines for site clearance to serve the construction of the high-speed railway project,” the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee emphasized.
The North-South high-speed railway project is considered one of the largest transport infrastructure projects, of strategic importance to the country's socio-economic development in the coming decades. With a scale and investment of tens of billions of USD, the project not only creates a breakthrough in transportation, but also opens up new development opportunities for localities through which the route passes, including Nghe An.
Resettlement work is identified as a key step. If done well, it will not only help the project stay on schedule, but also ensure a stable, long-term life for the people, strengthening the community's trust in this national key project.