Solving the problem of landfill materials

Lack of filling materials is a big difficulty for construction contractors in Hai Duong.

Contractors worry about losses

The project to renovate and upgrade provincial road 395 (section from km16+750-km23+920) aims to implement the general planning for urban construction in Binh Giang until 2030, with a vision to 2045. The road has the scale of a level III plain road, with a design speed of 60km/h. It is estimated that the entire project will use about 150,000 m3 of sand, 70,000 m3 of soil and 30,000 m3 of rubble.

“All the sand used for the project must be purchased from Ha Nam and Phu Tho provinces, and hilly land is mainly purchased from Bac Giang ... Due to the long transportation distance, the price of sand at the construction site has increased to 190,000 VND/m3, an increase of about 50% compared to the approved estimate,” said Mr. Bui Thanh An, Chief Accountant of Phuong Hoang Construction and Trading Joint Stock Company, the project contractor.

The upgrading and expansion of Provincial Road 395 on complex terrain requires a large amount of sand and soil for filling, but the supply is difficult, so the project is behind schedule.

Construction started in November 2023, but the Provincial Road 395 upgrade site had to stop for 3 months due to difficulties in filling materials. “We are having to maximize our manpower and equipment, and closely coordinate with the investor to free up the remaining electrical works to speed up the completion of the Provincial Road 395 upgrade as per the contract. Construction costs up to this point show that this contract may be at a loss,” said Mr. Bui Danh Bien, Director of Phuong Hoang Construction and Trading Joint Stock Company.

The investment project to build the East-West axis road of Hai Duong province, more than 36 km long, through Thanh Mien, Ninh Giang and Tu Ky districts, is focused on construction from July 2022 to early 2024 with the participation of many construction contractors. Similar to the general situation at many construction sites in the province, there are times when the bidding packages are behind schedule by 2-3 months compared to the expected. Lack of construction materials and sudden price increases have caused contractors to face the risk of having to compensate for losses when implementing the project. The prolonged project implementation period entails a series of other costs such as labor, project management, etc.

The main reason leading to the above situation is the difficulty in supplying filling materials. According to representatives of major contractors such as Hai Duong Embankment and Rural Development Construction Joint Stock Company, Bach Dang - Da Nang Construction and Investment Development Joint Stock Company, Falcon Vietnam Joint Stock Company... at peak times in construction, material suppliers can only supply 50-60% of the actual demand of the construction site. In addition, the construction season often focuses at the end of the year, which also contributes to the scarcity of filling materials, while also pushing up prices sharply.

“Due to high demand and limited supply, material prices fluctuate greatly, higher than the prices paid to contractors. Many construction sites have capital ready but it is difficult to buy enough materials to ensure construction progress,” said Mr. Le Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Provincial Construction Investment Project Management Board.

How to remove?

Lack of construction materials and sudden price increases have put contractors at risk of having to make up for losses when carrying out projects.

Within the management scope of the Provincial Construction Investment Project Management Board, in 2024, there will be 52 works and projects allocated capital, including many traffic construction investment projects such as Tan An, Cay, Van bridges and access roads; North-South axis road of Thanh Mien district and road 394B connecting with road 395; intersection connecting national highway 17B with road 5, Hanoi-Hai Phong railway; bypass road of national highway 37 through Gia Loc town...

“The filling materials used for traffic works must usually be hill soil and sand with clear origin and full documents… Meanwhile, in Hai Duong, there is currently no sand mine operating and the source of hill soil is also limited. Not to mention, the hill soil after exploitation must be screened to ensure the quality according to the regulations for use in the works,” Mr. Le Anh Tuan added.

According to the representative of the Department of Construction, the demand for filling materials in the whole province is estimated to be over 102 million m3 in the period of 2021-2025 and will increase to 219 million m3 by 2030. To contribute to increasing the source of filling materials, the industry has also advised the Provincial People's Committee to approve the replacement of sand and soil for filling some industrial parks Dai An expansion, Phuc Dien expansion... with sources of thermal power ash from Pha Lai Thermal Power Plant, Hai Duong BOT Thermal Power Plant with about 2 million m3/year.

Thanks to the timely replacement of thermal power ash and slag, the expanded Phuc Dien industrial park has quickly leveled the ground, making it convenient to hand over land to investors to build factories.

“Thanks to the timely replacement with thermal power ash, we have accelerated the progress of site leveling and conveniently signed lease contracts for over 100 hectares of land with 12 investors, equivalent to about 70% of the land area leased for production and business,” said Ms. Dinh Thi Loan, General Director of Trung Quy Bac Ninh Investment Joint Stock Company, the investor of the infrastructure of the expanded Phuc Dien industrial park.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment and related agencies have developed a plan to protect, explore, exploit and use minerals in Hai Duong province for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, integrated into the Hai Duong Provincial Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050. Mr. Nguyen Trac Trung, Deputy Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, informed that in 2023, Hai Duong successfully auctioned the right to exploit 5 mines with a reserve of about 12.296 million m3 of common construction materials. Previously, there were 3 mines supplying fill materials to the market with a reserve of 2.81 million m3. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is continuing to coordinate with relevant units to complete the procedures to auction the right to exploit minerals in Dai Bo hill mine with an area of ​​45.455 hectares, with an estimated reserve of 16.09 million m3 in Chi Linh city. The province still has 4 hill mines: Hang Ho, Ong Sao, Vong Vat and Ho Da (all in Chi Linh city) with reserves of about 13.2 million m3 that will be put up for auction after the mine is closed.

“Although hill soil is used as a filling material, it is considered a mineral, so the procedures for granting mining licenses are quite complicated, lengthy, and easily cause difficulties. It is necessary for relevant levels and sectors to focus on resolving them,” said Mr. Nguyen Nam Thanh, representative of the unit that just won the auction for the right to exploit a mine in the Ong Sao hill area.

JACKIE CHAN

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/giai-bai-toan-khan-hiem-vat-lieu-san-lap-tai-hai-duong-the-nao-388751.html