The deadline is approaching, but many Vinh Sub-Urban projects are still struggling with land acquisition and clearance.

(Baonghean) - The Vinh urban sub-project is nearing its deadline, but there are still many unfinished items. Some land clearance packages have not been completed, while the requirement is to be resolved before this year's rainy season.

Many local problems

Working with the Provincial People's Committee recently, Ms. Phan Thi Phuong Huyen - urban economic expert, head of the World Bank (WB) working group, made announcements and recommendations to the Provincial People's Committee on the situation of the Vinh Urban Sub-project; in which, there was concern about the slow progress in site clearance, the contractor had no place to work at the construction site, while June 30, 2017 was the last day for Vinh city, Nghe An province to complete this work; the rainy season is also approaching, and if the work is not completed soon, it will be difficult to construct, because the projects are mostly lakes, ponds, ditches, canals...

Site clearance work for components of the Vinh urban development project has been accelerated but is still slower than required. Photo: Nguyen Son

Currently, on the route, the construction package of the Regulating Lake is being constructed by the Hoa Hiep - Thanh Cong joint venture, according to the contract signed on October 16, 2015, completed on September 30, 2017. Up to now, the contract is almost over, but there is still 0.4 ha in Hung Loc commune that is preparing a compensation plan for land acquisition, expected to be completed in June 2017. There are 3.5 ha in Hung Loc commune (7 households) that have approved the compensation plan for land acquisition, but the households have not yet accepted and are petitioning for compensation, expected to be completed in June 2017.

Regarding construction progress, the estimated construction volume is 65%, while the implementation time is about 82% including the time for construction preparation. The contractor has dredged 1033/497,118 m3 (21%), built the lake embankment and excavated all types of soil at 80%; filled the soil, built the embankment wall at 77%... Management roads, branch roads, intersections, manholes, discharge gates, and filled the soil of all types are under construction. Thus, this package has not been completed yet.

The bid package for upgrading and renovating the canal around Vinh Citadel, the winning bidder is the Hoa Hiep - Thinh Hung Joint Venture, signed the contract on January 27, 2016, the completion date is August 10, 2017. By the end of May, there were still 22/195 households whose land had not been cleared; currently, the City People's Committee and related units are handling the case and according to Mr. Ha Thanh Tinh - Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee, it is expected that the site clearance will be completed in June 2017. Mr. Tran Van Tri - Chairman of the People's Committee of Cua Nam Ward added: The ward has 2 cases that have not been cleared yet, the ward and the city are completing the paperwork to enforce the case of Mr. Tran Trong Vinh's household in Block 3 because he refused to hand over the land, and the campaign is continuing for the household of Vo Thi Hoan.

In this package, the construction volume has only reached 45%, while the implementation time has been about 80%. This is a very noteworthy difficulty, because if it is not completed before the rainy season this year, the package to renovate and upgrade Vinh Ancient Citadel will not be completed. The representative of the construction contractor - Mr. Pham Dinh Hanh said that the construction of the package to renovate and upgrade Vinh Ancient Citadel is extremely complicated, although very careful, there are still some households that are not subject to relocation with cracked houses, determining the damage and compensation is difficult. Some households have not been liberated yet, so the machinery is waiting.

In the VH3-01 package for the construction of the Hung Tay - Vinh road (section from Km0+0.00 to km2+800 including the Ke Gai River overpass), according to the contract, it was to be completed on July 3, 2017. There are still 4 households that have not been cleared due to the requirement to issue a Land Use Right Certificate. In Nam Phuc Long Hamlet, 57/71 households have not received compensation; the reason is the requirement to complete the on-site resettlement area (expected to be completed in June 2017). The estimated construction volume of this package is 55%, while the implementation time is about 86%. The construction package for the Hung Tay - Vinh road (section from km2+800 to km4+620), the winning bidder is Tan Nam Construction Joint Stock Company, according to the contract, it was completed on June 11, 2017.

Currently, regarding residential land, the compensation plan for land acquisition and clearance has been approved for all 182 affected households; 179 households have received compensation and land acquisition; 2 households have not received the money and 2 households have received the money but have not yet received land acquisition and clearance. Currently, the City People's Committee is processing the case, and is expected to complete compensation and land acquisition in June 2017. The construction volume has only reached 65%, while the implementation time is about 91% including the time for construction preparation.

The same goes for the Hung Tay - Vinh Road Construction Package (section from km4+620 to km6+224.34), currently there are some businesses that refuse to relocate such as Kim Lien Company Limited (the compensation plan has been approved but the plan has not been accepted)...

The Ke Gai River bridge project connecting Vinh City with Hung Nguyen District is behind schedule due to problems with site clearance in Nam Phuc Long Hamlet, Hung Tay Commune, Hung Nguyen District. Photo: Nguyen Son

Ms. Phan Thi Phuong Huyen - urban expert, head of the WB working group - who has accompanied Nghe An for many years with the project analyzed the objective and subjective causes as well as proposed solutions for the project to be completed soon.

The reasons for the project delay were analyzed and dissected at the meeting, showing that in addition to the awareness of the people and businesses subject to relocation, which is sometimes and in some places not high, causing difficulties for the project, there are also subjective reasons in the leadership and management of both localities, Vinh city and Hung Nguyen district. Some of the people's recommendations were slow to be resolved, besides that, the resettlement area was slow, not yet available, making people wait, and the urging, inspection, and on-site supervision of local leaders were not regular...

The WB delegation recommended that Vinh province and city should immediately remove obstacles for the project contractor, and give more drastic direction to complete site clearance work to ensure the project's progress, avoid wasting capital and losing opportunities for other projects.

Ensure quality and aesthetics of the project

The Vinh urban sub-project is also a project that does not leave much of an impression on architecture and aesthetics. This can be said to be due to the initial design and approval process. Although the area is large and airy, the architecture of the project is mostly rudimentary in the style of "living sure and wearing durable clothes". Therefore, the quality of the project is also of great concern to the WB.

The WB delegation also pointed out some limitations at the construction site such as the cleaning of some places is still messy, the protection of completed items from damage has not been focused on. Although the North Canal section 1 has been underground to form a road. According to regulations, cars are not allowed to go up to avoid damage to the canal surface, but currently there are too many cars traveling. Some projects show concerns about progress such as the 72m road through Hung Tay (responsible for the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen district) or in Nghi Duc, Vinh city, which is still slow to be resolved. The WB also requested the Vinh City Project Management Board to mobilize consultants to assess the project implementation status and prepare a project summary report.

Our observations (PV) also show that, at many project sites, domestic waste and construction waste are quite messy, many places do not have warning signs of danger. Some projects are unfinished for a long time, causing trouble for local residents.

According to Mr. Huynh Thanh Dien - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Vinh Urban Sub-project is an important project of Vinh city and the province. In recent times, both the province and the city have taken drastic measures to speed up the progress of removing obstacles. Regarding relevant levels and sectors of Vinh city, they have been closely following the scene. There were times when the site clearance work was very effective and very good, more than 200 households in Hung Dong commune simultaneously gave up their land and gardens to move to other places to make room for the project.

However, at the current site, there are still sensitive areas that the province is working with the city to resolve. If Vinh city and Hung Nguyen district do not take advantage of the weather, strengthen their direction, and visit the site regularly and continuously, the project will miss the commitment schedule with the WB.

Pearl