According to Nguyen The Minh, Deputy Director of the Construction Investment Management Department ( Ministry of Transport ), the emulation campaign not only encourages and motivates officials, engineers, and workers on the construction site, but it is also a heartfelt command for all stakeholders to focus their efforts and intellect to bring the project to completion as soon as possible, serving the national interest and the people's well-being.
Mr. Nguyen The Minh.
Many projects have had their timelines shortened by 3-6 months.
After three years of accelerated construction, what breakthroughs has the highway network undergone so far, sir?
Under the decisive leadership of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Transport, with the spirit of "only talking about doing, not talking about turning back," "overcoming the sun and rain," and working in "3 shifts, 4 teams," the entire transport sector has overcome all difficulties and obstacles to bring projects to completion on schedule.
The Prime Minister launched a competition at 14 locations.
On August 18th, from the main broadcasting point at the expressway project in Dak Lak province, the Prime Minister's message will spread to 13 provinces and cities – where expressway projects are striving to reach completion and where the supply of materials for construction sites is being processed daily.
At various locations in Tuyen Quang, Quang Binh, Da Nang, Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Dong Nai, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Thap, Ca Mau, Soc Trang, An Giang, and Tien Giang, the Secretaries and Chairmen of the provinces and cities, representatives of relevant departments and agencies, project management boards, and contractors will jointly observe the launching ceremony of the intensive emulation campaign "500 days and nights to complete 3,000km of expressways" as set out in the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress, initiated by the Prime Minister.
To date, the total length of expressways nationwide has reached 2,021km. In just the last three years, 858km have been completed and put into operation, equivalent to more than two-thirds of the total kilometers of expressways constructed in the nearly 20 years prior (approximately 1,163km).
To reach 3,000km of expressways by 2025, nearly 1,000km must be completed in the remaining year. Which projects will be completed to achieve this figure, sir?
From the beginning of the term, the National Assembly and the Government have allocated significant resources for investment, and the Ministry of Transport and local authorities have also made good preparations for investment. To date, approximately 1,700km are under construction, of which 1,104km are planned for completion in 2025, and about 68km are scheduled for completion in 2026 but may be shortened and completed in 2025.
To ensure the completion of the 3,000km target by 2025, the Ministry of Transport has coordinated with localities to review the implementation status and divide the projects into 3 groups.
Group 1 comprises 13 projects with a total length of over 700km. These projects have favorable conditions regarding land clearance, material sources, and have had most of their obstacles resolved, ensuring completion in 2025, such as: the North-South Expressway section from Bai Vot to Van Ninh and from Quang Ngai to Nha Trang; the Lo Te - Rach Soi Expressway, the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway section through Ba Ria - Vung Tau province...
To reach 3,000km of expressways by 2025, the task is to complete approximately 1,000km more in the remaining year. Graphics: Nguyen Tuong - Photo: Ta Hai.
Of these, 10 component projects of the North-South Expressway Phase 2, from Ha Tinh to Khanh Hoa, are progressing ahead of schedule. The investors and contractors have registered to shorten the implementation time by 3-6 months, aiming for completion in time for the 80th anniversary of the founding of the country and the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification.
The second group consists of 10 projects that are progressing according to schedule, but still face some difficulties related to land clearance, relocation of technical infrastructure, and material supply... which need to be resolved in August 2024 to be completed in 2025.
This group includes projects such as: Can Tho - Hau Giang, Hau Giang - Ca Mau, Hoa Lien - Tuy Loan; the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 project through Long An and Ho Chi Minh City; the Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang expressway and a part of the Khanh Hoa - Buon Ma Thuot expressway.
The third group comprises four projects (60km in length) that still face many difficulties, requiring focused efforts and extraordinary endeavors from the stakeholders to complete them by 2025. These include the section of the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway through Dong Nai province and the remaining part of the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 project.
Address the difficulties promptly.
Could you elaborate on the challenges faced by the projects in the third group?
This group is facing challenges in terms of land availability and embankment materials, making it difficult to achieve the 2025 completion target without decisive involvement from local authorities, the investor/managing agency, and the contractor.
For example, in Dong Nai province, there are component projects of the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway and the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3. Although the local authorities have made great efforts, due to various reasons, only about 40% of the land has been acquired so far.
The supply of embankment materials for the projects is also facing difficulties. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Transport have coordinated to resolve the issue, and the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister have also shown concern and directed its resolution. Currently, Dong Nai province is urgently completing the procedures for granting mining licenses, and the issue is expected to be resolved in August 2024.
Scientific construction organization
To maintain construction efficiency on the site, what groundbreaking solutions is the Construction Investment Management Department advising the Ministry of Transport to direct investors and contractors to implement?
From the outset, the Ministry of Transport identified weaknesses in project implementation, namely the lack of smooth coordination between agencies and poor execution.
Construction of the North-South Expressway section from Vũng Áng to Bùng. Photo: Tạ Hải.
Therefore, the Ministry advised the Prime Minister to establish a Steering Committee for key national projects and priority projects in the transport sector, chaired directly by the Prime Minister, to promptly resolve difficulties and obstacles, and to supervise and assign tasks to ministries, sectors, and localities.
The Ministry of Transport has requested that investors assign qualified and experienced personnel to work alongside local authorities in land clearance; and identify priority areas for implementation.
In the southern region, the main source of fill material is sand, with a total demand of approximately 65 million cubic meters. Although river sand reserves are sufficient, they are mainly concentrated in a few localities such as Dong Thap, An Giang, Vinh Long, Soc Trang, Ben Tre, and Tien Giang. However, the procedures for granting mining licenses are slow, and the number of mines and their extraction capacity are limited, failing to meet construction deadlines.
The Ministry of Transport has coordinated with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to review the sand reserves of localities in the region, the implementation plan, and the sand needs of each project in order to advise the Prime Minister on assigning specific targets to localities with sand resources and flexibly transferring sand resources between projects.
The Ministry of Transport's overarching directive to investors and contractors is to develop construction plans that are appropriate to the site conditions, material mobilization, and weather. They must take full advantage of favorable conditions and complete each task thoroughly to ensure the project is finished as soon as possible.
Quality will not be compromised for the sake of speed.
In the context of projects accelerating towards completion ahead of schedule, how is the quality of construction being controlled, sir?
Despite the shortened timelines, the implemented and operational transportation projects all meet the technical standards and regulations for expressways.
The Ministry of Transport has directed project owners/project management boards to thoroughly review the actual implementation status of projects, develop implementation plans, mobilize additional personnel and machinery, and apply technical solutions to strive to shorten the implementation time of some projects with favorable conditions.
At briefing meetings, the Minister and leaders of the Ministry of Transport have consistently emphasized that quality must not be compromised for the sake of speed. Specifically, investors and supervisory consultants are required to fulfill their roles and responsibilities, strengthen quality control at every stage, and always consider quality as a vital factor.
Thank you, sir!
Mr. Tran Van Thi, Director of the My Thuan Project Management Board:
Speed up construction when sand supply becomes available.
The Can Tho - Ca Mau expressway is over 110km long. After 19 months of construction, the project has reached 37% of its contract value. With close guidance and attention from the Government leadership, and the decisive involvement of the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the sand supply issue has been largely resolved, allowing for accelerated progress. The project management board has assigned two deputy directors to directly supervise and resolve any arising issues during construction, striving to complete the project by the end of 2025 as directed by the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Transport.
Mr. Le Quoc Dung, Acting Director of Project Management Board 7:
The Van Phong - Nha Trang expressway project is nearing completion.
The early handover of land for the Van Phong - Nha Trang expressway creates an important foundation for the project to accelerate during the 500-day intensive campaign.
The project management board will closely monitor the progress, organization, and construction solutions of the contractor, ensuring the project is completed by April 2025, six months ahead of schedule as directed by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Transport. This is the first expressway in the component projects along the Central region to be completed earliest in 2025.
Mr. Nguyen Vu Quy, Director of the Ho Chi Minh Highway Project Management Board:
Flexible solutions for progress control.
At the Van Ninh - Cam Lo expressway project, by the end of August 2024, the output had reached approximately 55-56%, closely following the adjusted schedule.
However, as of mid-August 2024, there were still about 10 sections with localized land clearance issues, totaling 0.7km in length. The Management Board is proactively coordinating closely with local authorities to complete the remaining land clearance by August 2024. At the same time, they are flexibly implementing solutions to control and compensate for delays in case of unfavorable factors.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hoai, Director of Project Management Board 85:
We hope for the early release of forest land.
On the Quy Nhon - Chi Thanh expressway, Binh Dinh and Phu Yen provinces have basically handed over 100% of the land, however, more than 1km remains inaccessible for construction due to discontinuous land. Similarly, on the Hoai Nhon - Quy Nhon expressway, the biggest obstacle is the clearance of natural forest land at the beginning of the route. Currently, we are waiting for the competent authorities to resolve the issue so that construction can begin soon.
Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/3000km-cao-toc-and-menh-lenh-tu-trai-tim-192240816005137911.htm
Comment (0)