Dare to walk on dry rocks to awaken the potential of new lands

"Commander" of Deo Ca, businessman Ho Minh Hoang talks about the group's successes in a simple way: "Other people have done all the easy things, only the difficult or very difficult things come to us."

He said that Deo Ca's success in "rescuing" difficult projects with legal problems such as the Bac Giang - Lang Son and Trung Luong - My Thuan expressways... was thanks to a consistent spirit: "Think differently, create a difference".

Without being too big and bold, Chairman of Deo Ca Ho Minh Hoang still gives the audience a clear sense of the "steel quality" of the leader of Vietnam's leading transport infrastructure corporation. That steel quality leads Deo Ca to "dare to walk on dry rocks to awaken the potential of new lands", as former Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung once said.

Chairman of Deo Ca Ho Minh Hoang

NVCC

*At the end of 2022, Deo Ca was assigned the task of "rescuing" another contractor's work in the 12-XL package of the Mai Son - QL45 expressway, but the group even committed to completing the entire project ahead of schedule. Taking on a task twice as difficult, at an extremely difficult time for the construction industry, at a key project that the entire political system and the people are looking forward to, is it reckless or confident in one's abilities?

- Honestly, in normal times, if the work is assigned to another contractor, the enterprise is very happy because the project means we have work and the company has profit. However, for the 12-XL package of the Mai Son - QL45 expressway, it cannot be denied that we were a bit apprehensive, because at that time the contractors were losing more and more. Enterprises doing projects do not have high profits, so they have to rely on output, equipment depreciation, and work for profit.

For example, in the Cam Lam - Vinh Hao section, to achieve results ahead of schedule, we also had to research many more measures to solve the problem of scarcity of construction materials. Some other types of materials also have accompanying units that commit to stabilization, but the investor must pay in advance to commit, the construction cost increased by 30 - 40%. In such a difficult context, taking on and compensating for all the unfinished volume of the old contractor is not an easy task. However, as the head of the contractor consortium, in the spirit of sharing for the common goal of the Government, even if it is difficult, we must run!

A project implemented by Deo Ca Group

D.C.

*This is not the first time Deo Ca has taken on the role of "rescuer" for traffic projects that have "broken down" halfway, such as the Bac Giang - Lang Son and Trung Luong - My Thuan expressways that are facing difficulties. Deo Ca is also present. Or instead of focusing on potential projects with the ability to recover capital quickly, the company has been diligently "probing for the way" to carry out difficult projects such as Dong Dang - Tra Linh, Huu Nghi - Chi Lang, Tan Phu - Bao Loc... Why is that?

- First of all, we must affirm that we are a business, the core goal is to create profit value, ensure investment efficiency to serve interests. In that, we put the interests of the country and the people as the highest priority, but also need to harmonize the interests of the business, shareholders and employees. When doing any project, we must put efficiency first. Particularly with public-private partnership (PPP) projects, the group clearly identifies that "pouring capital" into these projects is an investment for the long-term future, not a short-term profit. We always believe that difficult places are places with potential. As long as there is modern connecting infrastructure, the potential will be exploited. The golden road will create golden value.

"The more difficult the project, the more motivated the Deo Ca people are to make efforts to prove to the subjects that we mean what we say, not just talk for show." - Chairman of Deo Ca Group Ho Minh Hoang

For example, in Phu Yen, after we invested in the Deo Ca tunnel and Cu Mong tunnel, investors came to the locality, the economy was boosted, traffic demand increased and returned to serve the project itself, ensuring financial solutions and serving the interests of businesses. Or with the Bac Giang - Lang Son project, when the expressway had not yet been formed, the potential of the localities along the route was almost "asleep", but when the road was completed, the opening day was combined with the province's investment promotion program, many businesses came to study investment.

Furthermore, we study projects in the form of PPP, which means combining both state capital and state capital. In the projects being implemented, Deo Ca proposes a financial plan with the participation of state capital at the most reasonable level, ensuring the ability to recover capital and investment efficiency. It must also be admitted that these projects are facing many financial, technical and legal difficulties in the context of transitioning legal regulations. However, the more difficult the project, the more motivated Deo Ca people are, the more they have to make efforts to prove to the subjects that we mean what we say, not just say it for "show".

Construction of Cam Lam - Vinh Hao Expressway by Deo Ca Group

D.C.

*Slow progress is a chronic disease of transport infrastructure projects. But Deo Ca is the opposite, having taken on difficult tasks, it always brings projects to the finish line ahead of schedule, even in the most difficult times. What "secret" helps Deo Ca maintain such performance and achievements?

- It is not really a "secret" or a special solution, but when approaching challenging projects, Deo Ca's consistent viewpoint is to clearly establish the responsibilities of the parties. Only when that is done, can the PPP project achieve the desired results. Public-private partnership means that the public side works together with the private side. What is the responsibility of the public side, the public side must be clear and resolved, and vice versa. On that basis, when setting foot on the projects, we invited inspection and auditing agencies to review, clarify all problems, clearly define the authority to resolve, what is the responsibility of the investor, and which bottlenecks need the competent authority to intervene.

When responsibilities are clarified, parties operate according to plan, and bottlenecks are gradually resolved. The results are clear to all, we do not affirm that our way of doing things is the best, but with that way of doing things, projects have reached the finish line in the most favorable way, quickly promoting investment efficiency.

Tunnel construction on Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon expressway by Deo Ca Group

D.C.

It can be said that 2023 is the "year of the highway" when for the first time Vietnam witnessed the simultaneous groundbreaking of 12 key national highway projects. Across the country, from the central to local levels, infrastructure projects are being vigorously implemented, ensuring smooth connections for the highway network. How do you assess the "temperature" of Vietnam's infrastructure construction market today? What opportunities does this open up for the construction industry in general and Deo Ca in particular?

The general infrastructure development orientation of the Party and Government is completely correct, a great opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises to continue to develop. A new determination from the Government and a new urgent working atmosphere on the construction site being urged by the Ministry of Transport have created a new trend for contract management with construction contractors. Putting aside challenges and difficulties, contractors who have committed to undertake must be responsible for their scope of work, not because of objective factors that cause stagnation, invisibly reducing project progress.

In particular, one of the biggest opportunities that Vietnamese contractors have had in recent times is from the Government's decisive direction not to divide bidding packages. This is a very correct direction because Vietnamese transport enterprises can only grow when the playing field is large enough. If they continue to do things in a fragmented and small way, they will not have the opportunity to grow. We also hope that, along with the Government's decisive spirit, the development of legal regulations and mechanisms to remove difficulties by competent authorities in the future will continue to have proper assessments and appropriate adjustments so that transport contractors can continue to maintain stable resources to accompany the process of modernizing the country's transport infrastructure.

Thanhnien.vn