Flexible policies, drastic actions to speed up site clearance for Cho Moi expressway

Construction of Cho Moi - Bac Kan expressway, section passing through Nong Thuong commune, Bac Kan city

Flexible policy

The Cho Moi - Bac Kan expressway, over 38 km long, is expected to create a boost for socio -economic development in the Northeast region. However, like many other key projects, the biggest challenge lies not in construction but in site clearance. "People support the big policy, but problems with procedures, asset valuation, and unclear resettlement support have caused hesitation," said Tran Manh Cuong, Vice Chairman of the Cho Moi District People's Committee.

In fact, more than 1,500 households were affected along the route, and hundreds of civil works and technical infrastructure systems needed to be relocated. At first, the progress of site handover was very slow, especially at points such as Na Ban bridge, Na Can bridge or the section through the center of Thanh Thinh commune.

Faced with the pressure of progress, Bac Kan has proactively issued many important decisions such as: Decision 19/2024/QD-UBND on regulations on compensation, support, and resettlement; Decision 41/2024/QD-UBND allowing compensation of 80% of the value of existing construction assets even if they do not meet technical standards... In addition, Bac Kan also applies the unit price for compensation for damage to aquatic crops and livestock according to Decision 24/2024/QD-UBND to help shorten the appraisal time.

One of the notable innovations is that Bac Kan allows people to choose their own resettlement options. Instead of building concentrated resettlement areas - which are often far from residential areas and difficult to attract people to live in - the province has issued a special support policy: People receive money to buy land and build their own houses if they have the desire and suitable conditions.

Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Van Minh said: “We see that in rural areas, people are attached to their fields and traditional livelihoods. If they have to move to a new place far from their farmland, no one is interested. Therefore, the Department has proactively advised the province to consider issuing a flexible support mechanism to help people both stabilize their lives and ensure long-term livelihoods.”

As one of the first households to choose the on-site resettlement option, Ms. Lang Thi Huong, Thanh Mai commune, Cho Moi district, shared: “My family received more than 300 million VND in compensation and support. With this amount, we were able to buy a piece of land near relatives, and still have enough left to build a spacious level 4 house. If we had to move to a resettlement area, I probably wouldn’t agree.”

Take drastic action

To ensure the commitment to the Ministry of Construction, Bac Kan province has clearly defined the motto "land plan comes first, construction follows". "Verifying the origin of land is the most time-consuming step, because many households do not have complete documents or the land is in dispute. To shorten this time, the working groups coordinate with village, hamlet, village chief, and residential group officials to collect information and conduct field inspections on the same day." - Deputy Director of the Center for Land Fund Development of Bac Kan city Le Thi Thu Ha said.

In addition to residential and production land, the project also passes through many technical infrastructure works such as electric poles, water supply pipes, telecommunication networks, etc. Relocating these works requires close coordination with specialized management units. The Management Board of Traffic Construction Investment Projects of Bac Kan province has been assigned to preside over the selection of contractors and develop a synchronous relocation plan, avoiding overlap with the construction schedules of other units. "We prioritize choosing experienced contractors, ensuring that they can work at night if necessary so as not to affect the overall progress." - Director of the Management Board of Traffic Construction Investment Projects of Bac Kan province Nguyen Anh Tuan said.

Bac Kan province has also accelerated procedures for environmental protection, material exploration, and earth quarries. In particular, the Thanh Thinh commune area, where there is an earth quarry serving roadbed construction, is being guided by the Department of Agriculture and Environment to complete the exploitation dossier and submit it to the Provincial People's Committee for approval according to regulations. This helps ensure that construction materials are always ready and not passive when the mass deployment begins.

Another factor that is bringing about clear results is the communication and mass mobilization work at the grassroots level. The People's Committee of Cho Moi district has requested communes to set up mobile propaganda teams, using loudspeakers and holding meetings to explain each support amount and resettlement plan in detail. Questions such as "When will the support money be received?", "Can I choose a new place to live?", or "If I do not agree with the plan, what will happen?"... are all thoroughly explained by the staff.

Representatives of Bac Kan City Land Fund Development Center propagate the State's support policies.
on site clearance, including resettlement issues

To ensure the progress of the work, the staff working on site clearance has also been strengthened. In particular, the People's Committee of Cho Moi district has a policy of rotating competent land and construction staff to key communes of the project, ensuring that land records and land use origins are verified quickly and accurately. The Department of Construction, the Department of Finance, and the Department of Agriculture and Environment have all joined in synchronously: Some are in charge of unit prices, some are appraisers, and some are field inspectors. "The Department of Agriculture and Environment and the Land Fund Development Center of Bac Kan city are required to work on holidays to keep up with the progress of compensation payments before the handover deadline" - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of the city, Ta Thi Lan Anh, said.

From drastic direction, flexible policies, to dedicated advocacy, by April 15, 2025, localities had handed over about 9/38 km of land, mainly concentrated in hotspots such as Nong Thuong, Thanh Thinh and Nong Ha communes.

At the same time, Project Management Board 2 urgently mobilized 4 construction teams to the handed-over locations. These units focused on cleaning, clearing, and preparing the foundation at priority locations such as the Km27+900 underpass, Na Deo bridge, and Na Can bridge. This is an important initial step to ensure that the overall progress of the entire route is not delayed.

Faced with the pressure of progress, the People's Committee of Bac Kan province has continuously organized field inspections and conferences to resolve problems with the participation of many relevant departments, branches and localities. At the field inspection on April 10, 2025, Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Dinh Quang Tuyen emphasized: "Priority must be given to completely resolving the remaining bottlenecks, especially in areas with bridges, culverts and underpasses, so that contractors have a continuous construction site." Accordingly, specific timelines have been assigned, with sections from Km0+750 - Km5+700 having to complete site clearance before April 25, and the remaining sections in Nong Ha such as Km6+700 - Km9+300 are also required to be completed before mid-May.

There is still a lot of work ahead, especially in relocating technical infrastructure and resolving bottlenecks in some households that have not agreed. However, according to Deputy Director of Project Management Board 2, Ministry of Construction Bui Huy Kiem: "With the decisive steps of the province in the recent past, from May 2025 onwards, it will be a time to "accelerate" both in terms of site clearance and construction of works on the Cho Moi - Bac Kan expressway".

Mr. Tran Ba ​​Luan - Commander of the Cho Moi - Bac Kan Expressway construction site affirmed: "We are committed to closely coordinating with the locality to ensure the construction is on schedule. Priority locations will be deployed simultaneously in May."

The Cho Moi - Bac Kan Expressway is not only a traffic route but also a corridor for economic development, tourism, services and regional connectivity. When the route is open, the travel time from Bac Kan to Hanoi will be shortened to less than 2 hours. To reach that goal, Bac Kan has been making efforts to complete the task of site clearance in a methodical manner, with an open-minded and flexible attitude in handling the situation, thereby contributing to speeding up the completion of the most important infrastructure project for the locality at present./.

Source: https://backan.gov.vn/Pages/linh-hoat-chinh-sach-hanh-dong-quyet-liet--don-bay-7143.aspx