Due to site clearance problems, the National Highway 7 Upgrade Project is unlikely to be completed before the district level stops operations.
Dien Chau and Yen Thanh districts are making efforts to complete the handover of National Highway 7 to the construction unit before the district level stops operations on July 1. However, with a large amount of work and many obstacles, the solution is facing many difficulties.
Environmental pollution and traffic insecurity
The project to renovate and upgrade National Highway 7, section Km0 - Km36, and handle landslides in the Khe Thoi - Nam Can section, Nghe An province, started in September 2022 and is expected to be completed before December 31, 2023. However, after many delays due to land acquisition issues, the project has yet to be completed.
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Traveling on this route from Dien Chau district (intersection with National Highway 1A) to Do Luong district recently, we noticed that the road surface has basically been paved with asphalt, making it convenient for vehicles to travel. However, some sections are still unfinished due to site clearance issues. At these points, it is easy to see that the new roadbed has a different height than the old roadbed. The old roadbed is rough, peeling, with many potholes, muddy when it rains, and dusty when it is sunny, causing traffic insecurity and serious environmental pollution.
In Dien Chau district, according to the local government's report, as of June 4, 2025, Dien Thanh town still has 6 households; Dien Phuc commune still has 1 household; Dien Cat commune still has 283.3m of the entire route length that has not yet handed over the site; including 12 households of the current project; and 18 households that have received compensation and support at the time of implementing the Dau Bridge Construction Project, with a length of 178m that has not yet handed over the site on both sides.
In Yen Thanh district, National Highway 7 has a total length of 27,774m (including both sides) passing through 5 communes including: Vinh Thanh, Vien Thanh, Bao Thanh, Cong Thanh and My Thanh. Currently, there are still 0.766 km/27.774km (both left and right of the route) stuck, accounting for 2.76% and affecting 38 households and 43 plots of land. Of which, the 2 localities with the most stuck are Vien Thanh commune with more than 100m; and My Thanh commune with more than 500m stuck.
According to our observations, the damage to the old road surface at the site of the land acquisition has become more serious. Especially, at the sections in Vien Thanh and My Thanh communes, the mud is seriously severe, becoming a nightmare for traffic participants when passing through these sections of road.
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It is worth mentioning that there are many vehicles passing through this route, especially heavy trucks carrying goods from Nam Can International Border Gate downstream. When passing through the sections connecting to the road surface under construction, it creates a large difference in height, which is very dangerous for traffic participants, especially motorcyclists and cyclists.
At the section passing through Vien Thanh commune, due to the narrow and muddy road, traffic accidents have occurred continuously. In particular, on May 17, a serious traffic accident in this area caused the death of a student residing in Vinh Thanh commune.
On the morning of May 28, 2025, a traffic accident also occurred when a woman riding a motorbike unfortunately collapsed into a muddy road and at this time a heavy truck going in the opposite direction, although avoiding a deep hole and encroaching on the lane, fortunately did not hit the woman. However, the accident also caused congestion on this road for a while.
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Traffic on the road with heavy trucks running alongside has become a nightmare for many local residents. Even local residents and households who have handed over the site to the construction unit are very dissatisfied with the remaining households' delay in handing over the site, making the road impossible to complete.
Ms. Ngo Thi Yen, resident of Hamlet 6, Vien Thanh Commune, said: This area has had many traffic accidents. Because it has not been completed, it is muddy when it rains and dusty when it is sunny. Therefore, she requested the local government to have drastic solutions to complete the project soon, ensuring safe travel for the people.
Risk of capital cut
According to the report of Project Management Board 4 (Vietnam Road Administration), the Project Investor: currently at the construction site of the project to renovate and upgrade National Highway 7, section Km0 - Km36 and handle landslides caused by storms and floods, section Khe Thoi - Nam Can, Nghe An province, there are currently a total of 16 construction teams, 53 machines, equipment, 17 engineers, 108 workers, basically in accordance with the current handed-over site. However, some sections have not been handed over continuously, so the contractor has not mobilized maximum equipment and human resources to carry out the construction.
According to Project Management Board 4, this unit has proposed the Vietnam Road Administration to report to the Ministry of Construction and the People's Committee of Nghe An province to direct the People's Committees of Dien Chau and Yen Thanh districts to focus on propagating and mobilizing people to comply with compensation, support and resettlement policies according to State regulations. Urgently complete related documents and procedures to hand over the site to the construction contractor as soon as possible.
However, at the "weak points", the site clearance has not made much progress. This could easily lead to the sections without clearance being cut off and handed over to the province, when the deadline for completing the project after the last extension is near.
Mr. Le Manh Hien - Vice Chairman of Dien Chau District People's Committee said: The locality is currently focusing on urgently carrying out the site clearance work of this project. Recently, the district has also gathered 4 groups of problems to ask for opinions from provincial departments and branches, and the province has given instructions. We will strive to complete the remaining 350m before the district level stops operating.
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Through investigation, the problems in Yen Thanh mainly come from the request for compensation for the area not included in the land acquisition and clearance measurement for project implementation of some households; some households were sold by the Commune People's Committee without authority without a land allocation record, without the size of the land plot when transferring, but they said that when sold, it was located right outside National Highway 7; a household requested compensation for land outside National Highway 7 because they said that up to now, it has never been recovered and the household has never been compensated; Households whose land was donated when granting land use right certificates requested compensation for this area.
According to the representative of Yen Thanh District People's Committee, the district has repeatedly communicated, mobilized, had dialogues, and responded to petitions for those households who have not yet handed over the site, but these households still do not agree. The district has also repeatedly sent documents requesting that all levels and sectors create favorable conditions for the policy of protecting construction and enforcing the decision to reclaim land and hand over the site to the construction unit.
It can be seen that the land acquisition for the project to upgrade National Highway 7 through Dien Chau and Yen Thanh districts is an extremely urgent requirement. If the land acquisition is not completed before the district level stops operating, the risk of problems arising, prolonging the time and increasing investment costs is inevitable.
