Regarding the quarry vehicle damaging the road in Hung Yen Nam (Hung Nguyen)

(Baonghean) - In mid-August 2015, Nghe An Newspaper received a petition from the people of Hung Yen Nam commune stating that heavy trucks of stone mining construction companies damaged residential roads, causing environmental pollution...

People in Hung Yen Nam commune have applications residing in Xo No, Dai Phu, 4, 5, 6 hamlets... In the application, the people stated: In 2009, Phuoc Thuy private enterprise was approved by the province, allowing it to invest in exploiting the Dai Ban hamlet stone quarry (Hung Yen Nam commune). Before exploitation, Phuoc Thuy enterprise had to fulfill its commitment to the people to open a road to both serve the people's lives and combine mining. After that, this enterprise carried out compensation for site clearance, compensation and support for 320 households to open a 10m wide, 4km long road. Since the road was expanded, the people have benefited a lot, both convenient for traveling and developing production and consuming goods from raising livestock and growing crops on farms. However, since the beginning of 2015, when Golden City Minerals Joint Stock Company invested in the quarry in Xo No hamlet, using many large trucks to transport equipment and mine construction has destroyed the road. Large trucks, running at high speed, cause dust and pollute the environment, affecting the lives of people, especially school-age children...

Origin and current status of the road

Through research, it is known that Xo No hamlet has 65 households, 345 people, originally people living in hamlets 5, 6a, 6b..., which are often flooded areas of Hung Yen Nam commune. Before 2010, the road to Xo No hamlet through the production areas was dug by the people themselves, the ground was only 3m wide, making it very difficult to travel, especially during the rainy season. When Phuoc Thuy private enterprise was licensed by the province to exploit the quarry in the area, the people requested investment to upgrade the road.

A truck transporting soil and rock runs from Xo No hamlet (Hung Yen Nam commune) to Nguyen Van Troi street (photo taken on August 24)

In July 2009, the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen district issued Document No. 430/UBND-CT approving Phuoc Thuy private enterprise to invest in upgrading the road from Km 10+500 Nguyen Van Troi Street to Dai Phu village, Hung Yen Nam commune to serve the travel and production of people in the area and mining activities at Dai Ban mountain quarry; on December 8, 2009, there was Document No. 779/UBND-CT confirming the construction of traffic works by this enterprise...

Upon approval from the competent authority, Phuoc Thuy private enterprise hired a consultant to conduct a survey and consider adjusting the route to ensure technical procedures for approval by the competent authority; then, through 2 investment periods, compensation was made for site clearance to widen the road up to 10m; and the roadbed and foundation were completed, along with some drainage culverts.

Arriving at Xo No hamlet, we noticed that the road from Nguyen Van Troi Street to the entrance to Da Dung Mountain quarry had a fairly good foundation, a wide surface, and was paved with crushed stone, but there were many large potholes. It was a hot and sunny day, but on the road there were quite a few large trucks, their containers full of dirt and rocks, running at quite high speeds, creating large rolls of dust. Because the trucks were not covered with tarps, dirt and rocks were scattered, along with potholes and puddles on the road, greatly affecting the travel of road users. Many people living on both sides of the road expressed their frustration when asked.

Mr. Le Ngoc Long (a citizen of Xo No hamlet) said that the situation of trucks carrying soil and rocks causing environmental pollution and endangering the safety of people has been going on for several months now. Because of frustration, in July 2015, Mr. Long and many people in Xo No hamlet set up a barrier to block the road to prevent mining vehicles from passing through...

The road surface has been plowed by trucks and not repaired, causing dust and serious pollution to the living environment.

According to Mr. Pham Trong Lan - village chief of Xo No village: During the process of mining, producing and transporting stone, every year, Phuoc Thuy private enterprise repairs the road surface; when the weather is hot, they water the road daily to prevent dust. However, when Golden City Minerals Joint Stock Company invested in mining, everything changed. "Both businesses are irresponsible towards the people and the road. The road surface has been destroyed by plowing vehicles and has not been repaired; oversized and overloaded vehicles carrying dirt and rocks cause dust and seriously pollute the living environment but refuse to water them. In addition, they cause traffic insecurity, especially for school-age children. Because they are so frustrated, the people put up barriers to block the road to force them to take responsibility. After that, the district police came; then the commune government also intervened and asked the people to remove the barriers to let the vehicles pass. The people removed the barriers, but the issue they petitioned about has not been thoroughly resolved. That's why people wrote petitions to authorities at all levels and the press..."

The "knot" of the problem

Through the investigation process, we found that the "bottleneck" of the problem lies in the dispute between the two enterprises in the use and investment in upgrading the road leading to the quarries passing through Xo No hamlet. The wide road as it is today is thanks to the initial investment of Phuoc Thuy enterprise, so when Golden City Minerals Joint Stock Company - a business in the same industry - used this route to transport goods but "forgot" the initial investment, there was dissatisfaction. Therefore, when Golden City Minerals Joint Stock Company asked to invest in pouring concrete on the road to overcome the "potholes" and dust, Phuoc Thuy private enterprise did not agree.

In the meeting between the two enterprises on August 25, 2015 at the headquarters of Hung Nguyen District Police, the representative of Phuoc Thuy Company expressed his opinion: Calculating the total compensation for the people and the foundation that Phuoc Thuy Company has actually constructed, the two sides will jointly invest in the additional road surface according to the design. Appraisal of the two parties' estimates for the construction of the road and road surface, bidding for the construction of the road surface. The total investment will be divided in half, the construction costs will be borne by the two units and the responsibilities and benefits will be equal. However, the representative of Golden City Company did not agree with this plan and asked to invest in upgrading the road surface from the quarry to Nguyen Van Troi Street and renewing the road extending to Vinh City bypass. The cost will be borne by Golden City and will also support Phuoc Thuy Company with 100 million VND. However, this request was not accepted by Phuoc Thuy Company.

Phuoc Thuy Enterprise pours crushed stone to prepare for road construction

Speaking to reporters, Phuoc Thuy enterprise said: "If Phuoc Thuy invests, upgrades, and asphalts the road, Golden City must support Phuoc Thuy with 4 billion VND, and if Golden City builds the road, it must support Phuoc Thuy with 2 billion VND in initial investment. "To upgrade the road to the quarry (2 km long, 3 m wide) into a 4 km long, 10 m wide road as it is now, we have compensated 300 households with about 400 plots of land, mostly reclaimed land, without titles. In addition, we also support crops on the land and some other support. That is not to mention the cost of building the road. So if Golden City cannot reach an agreement, Phuoc Thuy will invest and upgrade the road in phase 2 itself and will not allow this company to share this road. Currently, our company has sent a commitment to continue implementing the project to the People's Committee of Hung Yen Nam commune...", Ms. Pham Thi Thuy - representative of Phuoc Thuy enterprise said.

Through the discussion, Phuoc Thuy Enterprise also provided some documents related to the investment in the road such as the Report on the basic design review of the construction project of the road to Hong Vang quarry, Hung Yen Nam commune, prepared by Construction Investment Consulting Joint Stock Company 198 with a total investment (according to the price of materials in the first quarter of 2010) of 11,202,964,000 VND and the minutes of compensation and support for reclaimed land of each household. However, this enterprise did not provide specific figures on the total investment cost of the road as well as the compensation to support the households.

Regarding Golden City, speaking to reporters, Mr. Bui Minh Tuan - Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company said: "Honestly, we are also very grateful for the contribution of Phuoc Thuy Enterprise in investing and expanding the road to the initial quarry. Golden City also wants to reach an agreement to jointly use the road for quarrying, but Phuoc Thuy Enterprise does not provide any basis for the initial investment level, sometimes saying this, sometimes saying that, so we do not know what to base on to calculate the support level...".

Mr. Tuan also expressed Golden City's wish to be responsible for investing in upgrading the road surface from the quarry to Nguyen Van Troi Street, at the same time renewing the road extending from Nguyen Van Troi Street to Vinh City bypass and supporting Phuoc Thuy enterprise with 500 million VND...

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu - Chairman of Hung Yen Nam Commune People's Committee, after the meeting with representatives of the two enterprises on August 25, Hung Nguyen District People's Committee assigned the commune to act as an intermediary for Golden City Minerals Joint Stock Company to continue meeting with Phuoc Thuy private enterprise to negotiate investment in upgrading the road. However, up to this point, the two enterprises have not yet found a common voice.

Need to unite for common goal

To completely solve the problem of "potholes" and dust pollution, meet the needs of people in daily life, and create convenience for businesses in mining travel, it is necessary to have the cooperation and contribution of both businesses as well as the people with the common goal of investing in upgrading the road. Here, the two businesses need to understand that regardless of who invests in upgrading the road, the road is still a public road, managed by the State, and not owned by any organization or individual. In addition to serving businesses traveling to mines, the road also serves the people's lives and the needs of local economic and social development. Therefore, any organization or individual that takes advantage of investing in and upgrading this road to prevent others from exploiting and using it is a violation of the law.

However, the initial road-opening merit of Phuoc Thuy enterprise cannot be denied. And when the later enterprise, Golden City, had the intention to join hands in investing in asphalt paving and supporting the initial investment costs for road-opening, Phuoc Thuy enterprise also needed the goodwill to create conditions for Golden City to implement. On the part of Golden City Company, it is necessary to see that, to have today's wide road is thanks to the initial investment and upgrading of Phuoc Thuy enterprise to share and support appropriately. On the part of the people, the request for a wide, clean road is completely legitimate. However, the request to follow the legal procedures and the establishment of barriers to prevent enterprises from entering to exploit the mine is an illegal act that must be condemned.

On the side of Hung Nguyen district government, it is necessary to demonstrate the role of referee in handling the dispute between the two enterprises. In the immediate future, it is necessary to work with the two enterprises soon to clarify responsibilities and reach an agreement on the investment plan, upgrading the road, ensuring the harmony of interests of the parties and the local people. Any enterprise that, due to personal interests, deliberately causes difficulties in the process of exploiting, using and upgrading the road must be resolutely and strictly handled in accordance with the provisions of the law, if necessary, the mining operation can be suspended. And in order to have a reasonable support plan, Phuoc Thuy enterprise needs to provide authentic grounds for the initial investment cost of the road to the quarry.

From there, the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen district can invite an intermediary unit to calculate the total investment for the road section that the two enterprises jointly exploit at current prices (including compensation for site clearance, construction of graded roads, and paving). With that total investment, after deducting the depreciation that Phuoc Thuy enterprise has exploited in the past years, it will be divided in half so that the two enterprises can contribute to the construction.

Reporter Group