Public investment accelerates

Construction sites that never take a day off.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assessed public investment as one of the important drivers for economic growth, especially in the current very difficult circumstances. Transportation infrastructure projects account for a very large proportion of public investment capital in the 2021-2025 period and are being implemented simultaneously in all regions, including the North-South and East-West expressways. According to the head of government, the volume of work to be done is enormous, requiring very high determination, effort, focus, decisiveness, and stronger action from ministries, sectors, investors, contractors, consultants, etc.

The Mai Son - National Highway 45 expressway opened to traffic on April 29, 2023.

As of April 30th, the whole country had disbursed 110,633 billion VND in public investment, reaching 15.65% of the plan assigned by the Prime Minister . Although lower than the same period in 2022 (18.48%), in absolute terms, it represents an increase of nearly 15,000 billion VND compared to the same period in 2022.

Speaking to Thanh Nien newspaper, Mr. Pham Quoc Huy, Director of the Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet expressway project, Project Management Board 7 ( Ministry of Transport ), said that throughout the April 30th holiday, officials, engineers, and workers continued working under the scorching sun of Central Vietnam, with a "3 shifts, 4 teams" spirit, to ensure the 100.3 km long project was completed on time.

"Currently, the project has completed the main route, the overpasses, and auxiliary items such as traffic management... to open to traffic on May 19th. As for some auxiliary items such as the access roads, due to difficulties with earth filling materials, the deadline has been extended to June 30th. Despite some objective difficulties such as the upcoming heavy rains in the area, the committee is still determined to strive to complete the project on schedule," Mr. Huy said.

Following the opening of the Nha Trang - Cam Lam and Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet expressways on May 19th, the Ministry of Transport is also accelerating construction progress to bring three more North-South expressway projects in the 2017-2020 period to completion by the end of 2023.

In the latest directive on accelerating the progress of key projects, the Prime Minister also set timelines for the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang, Bien Hoa - Vung Tau, Khanh Hoa - Buon Ma Thuot expressways, Hanoi Capital Region Ring Road 4, and Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 projects. The Ministry of Transport and the localities must urgently carry out land clearance work to ensure the handover of 70% of the land area and complete the procedures according to regulations to start construction before June 30th.

By all means, maintain the project's progress.

On May 10th, the Steering Committee for Component 2 of the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 Project (BCH) submitted a report to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee regarding difficulties in land acquisition, compensation, and support for the 2D10 land area (Pham Van Hai commune, Binh Chanh district) managed by Saigon Forestry Joint Stock Company (FORIMEX). According to the report, over 14 hectares of forest land, leased from the state on an annual rent basis, is subject to clearance for the Ring Road 3 project, but the company has not cooperated in handing it over. Therefore, the Standing Committee of the BCH recommended that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee issue a document requesting the company to hand over the affected area before May 15th. If the company fails to hand over the land, administrative measures should be applied to acquire it before May 25th.

The very next day (May 11), the Executive Committee continued to send a document to the Party Committee of Saigon Agricultural Corporation (FORIMEX's parent company) requesting an investigation into signs of violations and consideration of disciplinary action against the Party branch, Party committee, and relevant Party members at FORIMEX for failing to cooperate in handing over land for the project. Just one day after sending this "ultimatum," on May 12, FORIMEX sent a document to the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, the Executive Committee, and the People's Committee of Binh Chanh District agreeing to hand over the land affected by the Ring Road 3 project, without needing intervention from the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee leaders.

In 2023, the Ministry of Transport was allocated a record amount of public investment capital at 94,161 billion VND. By the end of April 2023, the Ministry had disbursed approximately 21,809 billion VND, reaching 23.2% of the plan assigned by the Prime Minister. This is also a higher result than the national average disbursement rate.

In just two days, 14 hectares of land belonging to an "uncooperative and uncooperative" entity were decisively processed. Never before has land compensation and clearance for a project in Ho Chi Minh City been carried out so vigorously. Previously, Thu Duc City and Cu Chi District also began paying compensation to households and organizations that had agreed to hand over their land, determined to achieve the goal of handing over 70% of the land by June to meet the commencement schedule for the four construction packages of the Ring Road 3.

Mr. Luong Minh Phuc, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Transport Infrastructure Investment and Construction Project Management Board (TCIP), said that the entire political system of the city is focusing its efforts on controlling the progress of the Ring Road 3 project because this project alone accounts for 80% of the public investment capital disbursement rate that TCIP has been assigned by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee this year, equivalent to 23,000/31,000 billion VND.

The My Thuan 2 Bridge, connecting the Trung Luong - My Thuan and My Thuan - Can Tho expressways, is nearing completion.

According to Mr. Phuc, TCIP has already transferred the first phase of compensation funds to Thu Duc City and the districts, totaling over 5,624 billion VND. The second phase, comprising 10,000 billion VND, will continue to be implemented in September and October and will be completed before November this year. The technical design documents for the four construction packages scheduled to commence at the end of June have also been reviewed and approved. From now until the end of June, the investor will organize bidding to select construction and consulting contractors and sign contracts to begin construction. Construction will have two payment phases, with the first phase of approximately 2,000 billion VND at the end of June. In the following months, construction will continue to commence and advance payments will be made for each construction package. The disbursement rate will peak at the end of the second quarter, gradually increasing in the third and fourth quarters, reaching 5,000 billion VND by the end of the year.

"When an economy enters a recession, many production sectors stagnate. Focusing resources and solutions to disburse public investment capital is a necessary direction for economic recovery. Infrastructure construction is a labor-intensive activity that creates many jobs and stimulates consumption in related services. When construction activities are concentrated, related industries such as steel and building materials production will also move forward. This is a catalyst, a crucial link that changes the situation and prevents market decline."

Dr. Vu Anh Tuan, Director of the Vietnam-Germany Transport Research and Development Center

"The project's commencement deadline of June 30th is still being maintained. The roadmap has a very clear progress schedule, calculated week by week. All progress is being controlled according to plan. The Ring Road 3 project will definitely disburse over 95% of its funds this year. The city's leaders are determined to achieve a record disbursement target to create a turning point for the city's economy," Mr. Phuc affirmed.

Similarly, the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway, a crucial section of the North-South expressway connecting with Ring Road 3, creating a link for the entire Southeast and Southwest regions, has also recently resumed construction after a three-year suspension. To "rescue" this vital road from the failure of foreign loan financing plans, the investor, VEC, has requested to allocate over 7,547 billion VND from its legally accumulated cash flow from its business operations to complete the remaining work. VEC stated that it will create the best conditions for contractors to complete the project on schedule and with the required quality, aiming to complete the entire Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway project as soon as possible, avoiding the 2025 deadline set by the Government.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/dau-tu-cong-tang-toc-185230514223254074.htm