Lesson 2: Lightning-fast construction "overcoming the sun and rain", bringing the project to the finish line

Along with early site clearance and handover to the management board, these days, at construction sites, investors and contractors are making tireless efforts, "racing" against time to ensure the critical progress, working in "3 shifts, 4 shifts", gradually completing the 500 kV Lao Cai-Vinh Yen transmission line project on schedule.

Sweat mixed with mud, hasty meals at the construction site… to meet construction deadlines and stick to project progress demonstrate the spirit of “for tomorrow’s electricity for the Fatherland”.

Determined to cross the mountain and build the power line

The weather in the northern mountainous provinces in recent days has been rainy, the terrain is rugged, the workload is huge, many construction sites of the 500 kV Lao Cai - Vinh Yen transmission line have been eroded, some foundation pits are submerged in mud and water. However, on the route, hundreds of construction teams are still working hard to "stick to the construction site, stick to the progress". At the pole positions on the top of the hill, despite the difficulty in traveling, electricity workers still work overtime day and night, work at lightning speed, overcome all obstacles, the project progress is being accelerated to complete the energization before September 1, 2025 according to the direction of the Prime Minister.

Mr. Do Quang Khai, Deputy Director of Power Project Management Board 1 (Vietnam Electricity Group) said that the investor is strongly directing contractors to mobilize maximum human resources and machinery, aiming to complete the pole erection by July 30 and turn on the power by August 31. We are currently requesting contractors to prioritize production and installation in convenient locations to avoid wasting time waiting.

We went with Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tuan, Team Leader of the Construction Team of Power Construction Company 4 to locations 83 and 84 (Xuan Thuong Commune, Bao Yen District, Lao Cai Province), although it was raining heavily at the time, the road was slippery, and we had to walk several kilometers to get there. However, with the spirit of "overcoming the sun, overcoming the rain", the working atmosphere here was still urgent, the workers diligently completed the work. "The biggest difficulty is that the pole locations are all located on steep hills, transporting construction materials is very difficult.

However, with the highest effort, the unit mobilized more than 300 workers, working "3 shifts", "overcoming the sun, overcoming the rain", even organizing lunch and dinner for workers at the construction site to save travel time, striving to complete the pole installation and proceed with wire pulling by June 15", Mr. Tuan affirmed. According to the investor's report, up to now, 67/67 pole foundation positions of the project section through Bao Yen district have been completed, steel poles have been installed, ensuring safety; construction progress has been and is closely following the set plan.

To ensure the objectives of the entire project, the Power Project Management Board 1 (EVNPMB1) requested contractors to focus resources and flexibly apply construction measures to speed up progress when the weather is favorable. Comrade Nguyen Trong Hai, Vice Chairman of Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee emphasized: Units and investors need to arrange human resources to closely coordinate with local authorities to speed up the progress of the project, promptly remove difficulties and obstacles to ensure the construction process; at the same time, ensure safety, avoid affecting and impacting local people.

The 500 kV Lao Cai-Vinh Yen transmission line project includes 479 pole foundation locations. As of June 5, 2025, 236 pole locations have completed concrete foundation construction, 156 locations are under construction and it is expected that all foundation construction will be completed in early June. Along the entire line, 25 pole locations have completed pole erection, 36 locations are under construction...

In Vinh Phuc province, contractors and construction units committed to mobilizing maximum human resources and equipment, working three shifts continuously to make up for the progress after the site was cleared. While checking the progress of the electric pole construction in Dong Giang village (Trung My commune, Binh Xuyen district), Deputy General Director of Song Da 5 Ung Vu Thanh said: Currently, the project is facing difficulties due to recent heavy rain, affecting the progress. However, the units at the construction site are speeding up the construction to make up for the rainy days, in order to ensure the progress, safety, quality of the project and handover before August 31.

In Phu Tho province, the site clearance and road opening work has been basically completed. The excavation, foundation and foundation casting work is being carried out simultaneously, with increased manpower and equipment being mobilized. According to quick statistics, in Phu Tho, EVN and contractors have completed nearly 70% of the excavation and nearly 50% of the foundation casting. In many locations, contractors are ready to supply steel poles and begin erecting the first poles on the route.

Mr. Mai Dinh Viet, Commander of Viet A Industrial Trade Investment Group Joint Stock Company, said: The two most special locations, columns 369 and 370, crossing the Lo River with a "huge" height of more than 130 m, are being mobilized with a total workforce and construction equipment of "3 shifts, 4 crews". The foundation construction package of location 369 alone has reached 70%, however, it is currently the rainy season so the construction is also facing difficulties. In addition, the geology is often eroded, so we must take advantage of the time to ensure progress.

With the strong direction of the Government and Vietnam Electricity Group, ministries, branches and local authorities have taken synchronous action, closely directed and promptly resolved obstacles from mechanisms to practices at the construction site. According to Deputy General Director of Vietnam Electricity Group Pham Hong Phuong, the Group requested the Power Project Management Board 1 and contractors to focus on reviewing the construction progress of each pole location, completely removing obstacles, speeding up implementation, and ensuring absolute safety along the entire route. Construction units need to proactively respond to adverse weather conditions, arrange human resources and equipment appropriately, speed up the progress of foundation pit construction, and prepare well for pole erection in the coming time.

“Rolling” construction, synchronous production and installation

Not only at construction sites, but also at material factories, the competitive atmosphere of production is also very urgent and hasty. With the motto "no foundation waiting for columns", enterprises supplying materials and steel columns are accelerating day and night. At the factory of Viet Vuong Joint Stock Company, workers are actively and enthusiastically producing to deliver steel columns on time. Currently, the company is focusing all its resources, boosting production with a capacity of about 100 tons of steel/day, striving to increase in the coming time; the goal is to complete all products by June 20, ready to hand over to the site for construction and installation.

The package of Viet Vuong Joint Stock Company is to supply 128 steel columns, equivalent to 14,500 tons of steel; of which, there are 52 positions of shaped steel columns (V columns) with about 3,900 tons, the rest are steel pipe columns with high technical requirements, requiring the contractor to fully master the technology. Deputy General Director of Viet Vuong Joint Stock Company Nguyen Hong Thang said: The 500 kV project has a new feature of combining both production and construction in the same package, helping us to proactively operate production to ensure the set schedule. In particular, the coordination between the column suppliers and construction and installation units is smooth and timely, ensuring that the columns are transferred directly to the foundation position as soon as completed, avoiding the situation of "foundation waiting for columns" or "columns waiting for foundation".

At the PCC4 Electrical Construction and Trading Joint Stock Company, the factories are also "working day and night" to promptly deploy the production of materials and supplies for four packages; including three power line packages and one expansion package for the 500 kV Vinh Yen transformer station, with a total volume of about 8,500 tons of steel. According to the preliminary report, package 4 and the 500 kV transformer station expansion package have been completed and handed over; package 2 has handed over 19/23 locations and package 9 has handed over 18/22 locations... According to PCC4 Director Vu Van Nam, this project was put into use by EVN using steel pipe poles, requiring high technology and raw materials depending on imports, so production encountered some difficulties...

To ensure the production progress as committed, the company mobilized all human resources to work in "3 shifts, 4 shifts", overcoming all difficulties. As expected, the company will complete the delivery on June 24, 2025, about 20-25 days ahead of schedule. According to Mr. Do Quang Khai, Deputy Director of Power Project Management Board 1, in response to the urgent progress requirements, the Project Management Board and contractors have mobilized specialized means of transport, including special vehicles to transport materials such as concrete and steel to the foundation columns in complex mountainous terrain, ensuring the construction is organized on schedule, safe and of high quality. The production and transportation of steel columns are also urgently deployed, in close coordination with the foundation construction and column erection teams.

At construction sites, thousands of workers are working “through the sun and rain” at pole positions stretching from Lao Cai, Yen Bai to Phu Tho, Vinh Yen; factories are “lit up” day and night. Along with that, the synchronous and drastic participation of the entire political system has created a combined strength and high consensus in project implementation. All are aiming for the goal that by the fall of this year, the 500 kV power line will officially connect from the potential Northwest region to the bustling Vinh Yen, bringing a new vitality, contributing to ensuring energy security, promoting socio-economic development, adding more motivation for the country to firmly step into a new stage of development.

Article and photos: NGHI LONG HA-SON TAM HAI

Source: https://nhandan.vn/bai-2-thi-cong-than-toc-vuot-nang-thang-mua-dua-du-an-ve-dich-post885132.html