Many items to upgrade Vy Da bridge have been deployed but cannot be completed due to lack of land.

The green urban project is being implemented in the three provinces of Ha Giang , Vinh Phuc and Thua Thien Hue, playing an important and strategic role in solving the flooding and environmental sanitation problems that affect people's lives, production and business activities in the area. The projects are built to improve people's lives and promote investment in production in the provinces.

In Thua Thien Hue , the green urban project approved by the Provincial People's Committee in 2016 (adjusted in 2023) includes 10 construction packages. To date, the Project Management Board has completed the selection of contractors for 10 packages, with a value of more than 1,000 billion VND (construction costs).

Of these, 2 packages have been completed and put into use, while 8 packages are being implemented, with a value of over 597 billion VND (reaching over 59% of the total construction volume of the project). However, in the packages under construction, many construction items seem to have been "frozen" for a long time due to deadlock or delay in site clearance, leading to delays compared to the contract, even though the project completion time is near.

According to the Project Management Board, the total project includes 10 construction packages, of which 6 packages require site clearance with 2,750 affected households and organizations, of which 2,281 households and organizations have been approved, reaching a rate of 83%. The total approved site clearance compensation amount is more than 271 billion VND. The remaining households have not been approved for 469 households and organizations.

Package 28 includes items such as upgrading and expanding Vy Da bridge, a 100m road connecting An Van Duong Urban Area A and B (a bridge over Nhu Y River) with a contract value of more than 109 billion VND, starting in July 2021, completed on May 30, 2024 by Hoa Binh 479 Joint Stock Company. However, the cumulative implementation value to date is only about 47.8 billion VND, reaching 46.2% of the contract construction value.

Reporters at the scene noted that the contractor has constructed 28/48 bored piles for the Vy Da bridge project (the remaining part cannot be constructed due to site clearance issues, including 1 pier and 4 abutments), has poured concrete for 7/8 bridge piers and is casting 10/40 beams.

According to a representative of Hoa Binh 479 Joint Stock Company, the contractor is currently unable to carry out many items due to site clearance work, especially the area on Pham Van Dong Street with a contract value of more than 35 billion VND that cannot be carried out. The project has been stalled for a long time, although there have been many meetings between the relevant parties to speed up site clearance work, the situation has not improved.

According to the Project Management Board, for the Vy Da bridge project, 50 households and organizations were affected, and so far only 23 households and organizations have been approved. In Xuan Phu ward, 3 households have not received compensation, of which 2 households rent houses from the State and 1 case lost part of the land and property and only received compensation after the other households had relocated. Vy Da ward has 30 cases, of which 18 households have finished listing and submitted to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Hue City for appraisal, 12 households are appraising the origin of the land in the ward.

The Vy Da Bridge upgrade project has now completed the inventory work, and the documents have been submitted to the People's Committees of the wards to verify the origin of the recovered land. However, the reason for the slow land acquisition is that when the land was previously recovered for the Vy Da Bridge construction project (in 1999), in addition to the recovered part for the bridge construction and road surface (19.5m), there was also a slope part, which has not been determined whether it has been recovered or not, so the localities have no basis to verify the origin of the recovered land for the project.

Mr. Vo Van Viet, Director of the Project Management Board, assessed that due to many difficulties, the progress of land acquisition and clearance of some current packages has not met the construction progress. In addition, the decision dated September 25, 2023 of the Provincial People's Committee on promulgating regulations on compensation, support and resettlement when the State acquires land in the province, effective from October 5, 2023, has affected the process of appraising and approving land acquisition and clearance and adjusting resettlement plans for relocated households. The land acquisition price in 2024 of new sub-projects was approved in mid-March 2024.

Households have not yet agreed with the compensation plan, especially for households subject to resettlement. For example, the 100m road connecting Area A and B An Van Duong in Xuan Phu and An Dong wards (households whose land was recovered but had handwritten sales documents have not been considered for resettlement), resettlement for secondary households. This issue has been resolved in the decision dated September 25, 2023, however, the Hue City People's Committee needs to verify the living situation at the ward People's Committee before developing a new resettlement plan.

Regarding the loan capital from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), after synthesis and review, the unused ADB loan capital of the Thua Thien Hue component project is about more than 374.8 billion VND.

In order to promote the investment efficiency of the green urban project, contribute to urban beautification, develop infrastructure, and create momentum for local socio-economic development, the Department of Planning and Investment has coordinated with relevant agencies to review and propose to the Provincial People's Committee, and the Provincial People's Committee has agreed on the list of investment items using the project's surplus capital.

On March 26, 2024, ADB issued a letter agreeing on the list of projects using surplus capital and adjusting the closing date of the green urban project loan to June 30, 2028. Currently, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has sent a document to the Provincial People's Committee regarding comments on the proposal to extend and use the surplus capital of the project. After the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance review and approve, the Project Management Board will proceed with the next steps according to regulations.

Article and photos: HA NGUYEN