Thao Lan Company supplied sand for the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway project passing through Long An but was not paid so they demanded it back.
Mr. Pham Van Thao, Director of Thao Lan Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Thao Lan Company, located in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City), said that in August 2016, he signed a contract with Hoang Anh Trading and Construction Co., Ltd. (Hoang Anh Company, located in Long An) to supply sand for the construction of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway. The company will provide 10,000 m3 of sand, at a price of VND93,000 per m3, to fill a 700 m section of the project's A1-1 package, in Ben Luc district (Long An), near the intersection with the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway.
The 700m area of Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway, where there is a dispute over sand resources. This section is close to the intersection with Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway. Photo: Ha Giang
According to the contract, Thao Lan Company will be paid once after providing enough quantity. However, when this unit brought enough sand to the construction site, Hoang Anh Company did not have money to pay. Meanwhile, Thao Lan had signed a contract with the transporter, and deployed ferries, sand suction pumps... so it was difficult to stop. Therefore, in addition to the initial 10,000 m3, the two sides agreed to bring more sand to the construction site, borrow the site to gather first and then wait for Hoang Anh Company to have money to buy more.
Mr. Thao said that the total volume of sand "brought to the highway construction site by the unit was 127,000 m3". However, the buyer, Hoang Anh Company, suddenly withdrew from the project without payment. "Because the buyer could not be contacted, Thao Lan Company organized to protect the entire 127,000 m3 of sand to wait for a resolution", Mr. Thao said and requested that functional units intervene to ensure the interests of the business.
Currently, Thao Lan Company wants the competent authority to inspect and confirm the specific volume of sand to move the unit from the construction site. In case the new contractor currently constructing the highway wants to buy it back, the unit is ready to complete the transfer procedures.
Due to a dispute, although the A1-1 package of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway was restarted after many years of stagnation, the 700 m section mentioned above could not be implemented. The construction site here was abandoned, interrupted, and overgrown with weeds. Thao Lan Company hung signs saying "protect the sand, waiting for competent authorities to handle".
Signboard hung by Thao Lan Company at a 700m section of the project site, March 9. Photo: Ha Giang
According to the Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC - the investor), the A1-1 package (formerly known as package A1) belongs to the western section of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway. Previously, the old contractor was a joint venture of Halla Corporation - Vinaconex E&C Joint Stock Company, which signed a contract with the subcontractor Vicomex Joint Stock Company to construct the project. This subcontractor purchased sand from Hoang Anh Company, which was approved by the consultant. The purchase and sale between Hoang Anh and Thao Lan was based on the economic contract of the two companies, so the dispute over the sand source mentioned above is a separate issue, unrelated to the current construction site.
The investor said that since 2017, due to the debt between the two companies that had not been settled, Thao Lan Company had obstructed construction on the above-mentioned section. The contractor then filed a lawsuit and the District 7 People's Court issued a decision to apply measures to prohibit Thao Lan Company, Mr. Thao, and related organizations and individuals from obstructing construction.
According to Mr. Thao, after the above decision, he provided relevant documents and in September 2018, the court continued to issue a decision prohibiting Vinaconex E&C Joint Stock Company (subcontractor) from moving and using the disputed property, which is 127,000 m3 of sand, pending resolution by the competent authority. "We are not obstructing the construction but only protecting our property," he said.
Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway route. Graphics: Thanh Huyen
The Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway is nearly 58 km long, passing through Long An, Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai , with a total investment of more than 29,500 billion VND. Construction started in 2014, but the project implementation process encountered many obstacles due to changes in mechanisms, policies, capital sources, etc., leading to a halt in construction in mid-2019, when it reached more than 81%. Some previous contractors have terminated their contracts, and VEC had to choose a new unit to carry out the remaining work. Currently, the project is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of 2025.
Regarding the package facing problems with the sand source, VEC said that since 2022, the unit has stopped the contract with the main contractor after the negotiation process failed. This package was restarted in November last year after a new contractor was selected, with the target of basically completing some main items such as the road, bridge, etc. by June this year. However, the 700m section has a dispute over the sand source, so the contractor has not been able to implement it.
Ha Giang
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