The investor is sluggish, "hanging" the project for more than 20 years

Lesson 1: Nearly 2.5 km of road has not been completed after nearly 10 years

The project to expand and upgrade Luong Dinh Cua Street (in An Khanh Ward, Thu Duc City) started nearly 10 years ago but has not been completed because some households have not been able to clear the land.

Involved… 1 household

According to the reporter of Nguoi Dua Tin, Luong Dinh Cua Street (the section near the Luong Dinh Cua - Tran Nao roundabout, Thu Duc City, which has just been completed and is very neat and clean) is still unfinished, messy and shabby. This section is heading towards the Long Thanh - Dau Giay - Phan Thiet expressway. In addition to some items under construction, there is a nearly 1km section that cannot be constructed. The reason is that there is still a household here that has not agreed to be cleared and relocated.

Real Estate - Ho Chi Minh City: Investor procrastinates, — Luong Dinh Cua Street has been "in tatters" for many years. Photo: Van Huong

Through the investigation of the reporter, it is known that this is the household of Mr. Ngo Van Biet, with a land area along the frontage of Luong Dinh Cua street of about 100m (the total area of Mr. Biet's household belonging to the An Khanh Ward Cadre Housing Project, commonly known as Truong Thinh Residential Area (KDC), is nearly 520m2). However, for many years, Mr. Biet's family has not yet completed the land handover for the construction of expanding and upgrading Luong Dinh Cua street. The reason is that they have not yet agreed on the compensation price with the investor of the Truong Thinh Residential Area Project, Truong Thinh Investment - Construction Company Limited (abbreviated as Truong Thinh Company).

On June 30, when the reporter arrived, Mr. Biet's family was pouring soil and rocks to raise the foundation and prevent flooding. The family representative said: "A few days ago, there was heavy rain and flooding, and the whole family had to work very hard to clean up. However, the investor did not pay attention to the family's life and did not find a way to solve the problem so that we could live in peace."

Real estate - Ho Chi Minh City: Investors are procrastinating, — Mr. Biet's family is upgrading their house and does not know when this area will be handed over for the construction of Luong Dinh Cua Street. Photo: Van Huong

Regarding the case of Mr. Biet's family, through the investigation of the reporter, Mr. Biet has been sick for many years. His family does not accept the compensation price offered by Truong Thinh Company which is too low.

Regarding this issue, the reporter contacted Mr. Nguyen Huu Nghia, Director of Truong Thinh Company, many times, but he tried many ways to avoid and most recently did not answer the reporter's phone. The People's Committee of An Khanh Ward and the People's Committee of Thu Duc City said they would respond in writing.

According to the meeting minutes chaired by the People's Committee of An Khanh Ward, Truong Thinh Company was often absent. Typically, such as the working session on December 14, 2022, April 3, 2023 and most recently on April 13, 2023 on the compensation and support plan for the case of Mr. Ngo Van Biet's family with Truong Thinh Company, but this Company was absent without reason. This can be seen as an act of shirking responsibility, disregarding the lives of people affected by the Project invested by Truong Thinh Company. Therefore, it made them very upset.

"One bad apple spoils the barrel"

On the other hand, the fact that one household is doing this is greatly affecting the progress of completing the 2.5km long road, thereby affecting the socio -economic development of the area and Ho Chi Minh City. Moreover, the traffic volume through this road is very high, especially the access road to the Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway, the An Phu arterial traffic intersection, Nguyen Thi Dinh street...

The Luong Dinh Cua Street Upgrade Project started construction in 2015. When expanded, it will be 30m wide, with 4 lanes, and the total investment of the Project is 826 billion VND. The end point of Luong Dinh Cua Street is located at An Phu intersection, connecting to the Long Thanh - Dau Giay - Phan Thiet Expressway and connecting to many other important branches such as Mai Chi Tho Avenue, Nguyen Thi Dinh intersection, etc.

Real estate - Ho Chi Minh City: Investors are sluggish, — *Only Mr. Biet's family creates a bottleneck on Luong Dinh Cua street. Photo: Van Huong*

Thus, just because of the problem of one household in the Truong Thinh Residential Area Project invested by Truong Thinh Company, it affected an important route, the lifeline of Thu Duc City, the gateway connecting in the East, especially connecting to the highway. Nearly 10 years have passed, the economic and social damage, if calculated correctly and fully, will be huge, who will be responsible for these damages?

In practice, the project to upgrade Luong Dinh Cua Street has been suspended many times due to problems with relocating households. On June 30, 2023, the People's Committee of Thu Duc City invited relevant units, especially Truong Thinh Company, to attend a meeting to listen to a report on resolving petitions related to the An Khanh Ward Housing Project (Truong Thinh Residential Area). According to the invitation, the meeting was chaired by Mr. Hoang Tung, Chairman of the People's Committee of Thu Duc City. However, according to the reporter's source, Mr. Hoang Tung did not chair this meeting, but instead the Head of the Urban Management Department.

The meeting mentioned the land clearance for the Luong Dinh Cua route. The parties agreed to pay 1 billion VND to Mr. Biet's family to move the road boundary to build Luong Dinh Cua route. Meanwhile, in an exchange with reporters, Mr. Biet's family representative said that they had not received any such information.

It is not clear when the Luong Dinh Cua road will be completed, opening up the vital traffic route running through An Khanh ward. In fact, the approximately 2.5km long road is currently in a state of disrepair, distortion, and chaos. So, the delay of a road section affects the socio-economic development and the lives of people in this area. What is the role and responsibility of the local government, the Compensation and Site Clearance Board, and relevant parties?

Each proposal to withdraw the project

Many times, the Party Committee of An Khanh Ward has also recommended that Thu Duc City pay attention to directing and presiding with relevant units to "work with Truong Thinh Company to find solutions to speed up the progress of compensation, support and resettlement for cases that have not yet been handed over the remaining land in the project. In case the company still does not have positive moves in speeding up the progress of project implementation, it is recommended that the City Party Committee and the People's Committee of Thu Duc City report to the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City to consider and revoke the project according to regulations". However, up to now, the project has been "suspended" for more than 20 years, causing frustration for people whose land is part of the reclamation project, affecting the lives and socio-economic development of the locality.

Tien Dung - Thanh Chi

(To be continued)

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