Reviving a series of "suspended" transport projects for decades

The project is stalled due to obstacles from a few households.

For many years, numerous large and small projects in Ho Chi Minh City have been stalled and delayed due to obstacles in compensation and land clearance. Typical examples include the renovation projects of Xuyen Tam Canal, Hy Vong Canal, Tham Luong - Ben Cat - Rach Nuoc Len Canal, traffic junctions such as An Phu, My Thuy, and the Nguyen Van Linh - Nguyen Huu Tho underpass…

A section of the new parallel road project for National Highway 50 is facing land acquisition issues at the starting point where it intersects with Nguyen Van Linh Street.

In 2024, Ho Chi Minh City is expected to complete 15 key transportation projects. However, to date, some projects are still facing land acquisition issues.

National Highway 50 has 4.3km of newly constructed road running parallel to the old route. The contractor has focused on accelerating progress to essentially complete the main section.

However, at the starting point of the project, where it intersects with Nguyen Van Linh Street, there are still a few households that have not been relocated. Binh Chanh District has taken decisive action, but the issue has not yet been resolved. Therefore, the plan to put this section of the route into operation by the end of this year remains uncertain.

For example, the project to connect Tran Quoc Hoan Street to Terminal 3 has nearly completed the tunnel section at the intersection of Phan Thuc Duyet and Tran Quoc Hoan streets. However, the area inside still has many land acquisition issues.

Positive signals

On July 16th, the People's Committee of Thu Duc City held a conference to gather public opinion on compensation and land clearance for two sections of the Ring Road 2. These two sections are expected to begin construction in early 2025, therefore land clearance is being expedited.

The Nguyen Van Linh - Nguyen Huu Tho underpass project is nearing completion after being stalled for two years.

Specifically, component project 1, the section from Vo Nguyen Giap Street to Pham Van Dong Street, is over 2.4km long, requiring the acquisition of 13.49 hectares and affecting a total of 255 households. Component project 2, the section from Phu Huu Bridge to Vo Nguyen Giap Street, is over 3.5km long, requiring the acquisition of over 47 hectares and affecting 889 households, organizations, and businesses.

Mr. Mai Huu Quyet, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Thu Duc City, said that the city plans to allocate 8,000 billion VND for the project, so people will soon receive compensation to stabilize their lives.

This is a positive sign because even before the project is launched, land clearance has already progressed. This is different from previous years, when many projects were underway while waiting for land clearance, leading to delays and cost overruns.

At the Nguyen Van Linh - Nguyen Huu Tho intersection, contractors have been busy working on the HC2 tunnel branch in recent days. The tunnel is now open from one side to the other and is being completed for operation at the end of August. Previously, this project was stalled for two years due to land acquisition issues and the inability to relocate the water pipe infrastructure.

Maximum support for people

Mr. Luong Minh Phuc, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Transportation Construction Investment Project Management Board (Transportation Board), said that if the land is available, the Board will coordinate with the contractor to complete the construction within a few months. For example, the Nam Ly, Rach Dia, and Phuoc Long bridges, after being handed over, the contractor mobilized manpower and equipment for construction and could be completed by the end of this year.

Mr. Phuc recalled that when the Transport Department was established (in 2019), the unit received about 50 long-standing projects that were stalled due to land acquisition issues. Among these, some projects had been delayed for 5-10 years, even 20 years, such as the Long Kieng Bridge, Phuoc Loc Bridge, Rach Dia Bridge, Nam Ly Bridge, etc.

After much effort, 40 projects have now completed land clearance and are accelerating construction to be completed by the end of 2024 and early 2025.

Speaking about coordinating with local authorities in land clearance, Mr. Luong Minh Phuc said that investors must work hand in hand with local authorities in order to expedite land clearance.

"Information is updated daily; today we've dismantled this house, we're assisting people in that house; we're mobilizing contractors to transport people's belongings to their new homes, and providing support to those in need..."

"In fact, many districts and counties have established design consulting teams, provided free design drawings for new houses, and waived fees for reissuing land ownership certificates... for the people. All of these measures have accelerated the land clearance process for projects. When a project is launched, the Board quickly mobilizes contractors to work on it at a rapid pace to complete it in the shortest possible time, which is 6-8 months," Mr. Phuc said.

Implement policies that benefit the people.

Go Vap district has many large-scale transportation and urban development projects underway. Among them are projects with very good disbursement rates for land clearance, such as the Tham Luong - Ben Cat canal project (93%), the Duong Quang Ham road upgrade (94%), and the Hang Ngoai bridge (100%).

Mr. Do Anh Khang, Vice Chairman of Go Vap District, shared the district's experience in maximizing policies that benefit the people in the process of land acquisition and compensation for land and structures. At the same time, they understand the specific difficulties of each household in order to find different solutions.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/tphcm-hoi-sinh-loat-du-an-giao-thong-treo-hang-thap-ky-192240718214249646.htm