Need to consider and arrange capital for the construction of the Minh Ngoc - Mau Due road upgrade project

BHG - The project to renovate and upgrade Minh Ngoc - Mau Due road (DT.176B) phase 1, from km7 + 200 to km26 + 882, has been under construction for 2 years and is expected to be completed in May 2025. The province has adjusted the project to extend the construction period until the end of 2026 and has not allocated funding according to the 2025 capital plan. Therefore, contractors are currently working at a slow pace, or even stopping construction. However, many items under construction, if not completed, will be easily affected by floods and storms, causing waste and damage, so solutions and funding arrangements are needed to continue construction.

BHG - The project to renovate and upgrade Minh Ngoc - Mau Due road (DT.176B) phase 1, from km7 + 200 to km26 + 882, has been under construction for 2 years and is expected to be completed in May 2025. The province has adjusted the project to extend the construction period until the end of 2026 and has not allocated funding according to the 2025 capital plan. Therefore, contractors are currently working at a slow pace, or even stopping construction. However, many items under construction, if not completed, will be easily affected by floods and storms, causing waste and damage, so solutions and funding arrangements are needed to continue construction.

The DT.176B Phase 1 project was approved for investment by the Provincial People's Committee on March 11, 2022 under Decision No. 353 with the goal of gradually completing the planning of the road traffic network in the province, improving the capacity to exploit and operate the project, ensuring the safety of vehicles participating in traffic, creating momentum for socio-economic development of the southern communes of Yen Minh district and the eastern part of Bac Me district, contributing to improving the lives and reducing poverty for people in the project area.

The crushed stone road base is very susceptible to erosion and damage due to rain and floods if the road surface is not paved.

The total length of the upgraded route is nearly 20 km. Starting point at km7 + 200, Minh Son commune (Bac Me); The end point is at km27 + 500 (Provincial Road 176B (DT.176B) according to the standards of grade IV mountainous roads. The project belongs to Group B project, the total investment of the project according to the approved construction drawings and construction estimates is over 409 billion VND. The project was assigned to the Department of Transport (now the Department of Construction) as the investor. Construction and installation is divided into 2 packages No. 11 and No. 12, respectively won by the consortium of Phuc Loc Group Joint Stock Company - Mien Tay Company Limited and the consortium of Huy Hoan - Quynh Ngoc - Duc Thanh Ha Giang Company Limited. The total contract value of the 2 packages is over 383 billion VND. It is known that from 2022 to the end of 2024, the project has been allocated a total capital of 300 billion VND, reaching 68% of the total estimated value; the investor has disbursed 100% of the capital.

According to Resolution 111, dated October 31, 2024 of the Provincial People's Council, the project is included in the list of projects in the medium-term public investment plan for the period 2026 - 2030. In 2025, the project is not included in the list of projects allocated capital in the public investment plan according to Resolutions No. 130, 131 dated December 12, 2024 of the Provincial People's Council. The Provincial People's Committee has issued a decision to extend the project implementation period until the end of 2026. Therefore, in the first 4 months of 2025, the project has almost no construction progress. Up to this point, the total volume of paving the entire route has reached 95.8%; the road surface has been paved at 39%; the construction of the type II crushed stone road foundation has reached 82.7%; the construction of the type I crushed stone road foundation has reached 46%; Completed construction of 85/85 cross-road drainage culverts, reaching 100%; in progress of pouring reinforced concrete for the surface of 2 bridges, of which 1 bridge has been completed, 1 bridge has reached 50%...

According to research, the project area has a large amount of rainfall every year and the rainy season is only a few months away, while the route has laid 16.28 km of type II gravel base layer and 9.08 km of type I layer, but only 7.7 km of asphalt concrete surface has been laid; the drainage system (longitudinal ditches) and some bridge and culvert works have not been completed due to lack of funding, so they are very susceptible to erosion and damage when there is heavy rain, causing damage to the works. Some traffic safety items on the bridges have not been completed, which can pose a potential danger to people and vehicles, especially during the rainy season...

The DT.176B project is among the projects aimed at realizing the Resolution of the 17th Provincial Party Congress and the thematic Resolution No. 22 of the Provincial Party Committee on breakthroughs in building transport infrastructure for the 2020-2025 term. Although the province's resources are still limited and are focusing on the national key project of Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang Expressway, the project has still received attention and funding from the province in recent years. Therefore, given the current status of unfinished construction items, we hope that specialized sectors will advise the province to balance and allocate appropriate funding to complete items that may be damaged during the rainy season, avoiding waste and ensuring smooth traffic for people and vehicles on this route.

Article and photos: Luong Ha

Source: https://baohagiang.vn/kinh-te/202505/can-xem-xet-bo-tri-von-thi-cong-du-an-nang-cap-duong-minh-ngoc-mau-due-b1766e3/