An Phu Interchange expected to be delayed by 12 months: Traffic Department lacks determination to handle sluggish contractors

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction has just reported to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee on the construction status of the An Phu intersection project. The early completion of the project is considered very urgent to ensure connection with Long Thanh airport.

The An Phu Interchange, which connects the main roads at the eastern gateway of Ho Chi Minh City, is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. This delay will lead to a huge concern that the already congested starting point to Long Thanh airport will become even more congested - Photo: CHAU TUAN

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, the An Phu intersection project has implemented 13/18 construction packages within the cleared area. Items such as Ba Dat bridge, Giong Ong To bridge and HC1-01 underpass have been basically completed.

However, up to now, the total construction output of the entire project has only reached about 70%.

The entire An Phu intersection is expected to be delayed by 12 months, the HC1-02 underpass is delayed by 19 months.

Regarding the progress of specific items, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, the XL6 package (HC1-02 underpass) started construction in March 2023, and to date the volume has reached about 70%.

The packages that started construction in January 2024, such as package XL11 (overpass N2), have only reached about 45% of their volume; package XL12 (overpasses of branches N1.1 and N1.3) has only reached about 17%; package XL10 (overpasses N3 and N4) has reached about 18%.

Other items and packages such as An Phu intersection site, central tower, lighting system, trees, etc. are currently in technical design after basic design and have not yet started construction.

According to the report of the City Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board (Traffic Board), the expected completion dates for some items on the critical path are as follows: N2 overpass completed on December 31, 2025, HC1-02 underpass completed on April 30, 2026, N3 and N4 overpass completed on June 30, 2026.

The overpasses of N1.1, N1.2... and the entire project will be completed by December 31, 2026. However, to ensure this progress, the land area of 22,012m² must be handed over before February 28, 2026 to be able to implement the N1.2 bridge branch. Thus, compared to the planned completion date in December 2025, the progress of the entire project will be delayed by about 12 months.

The investor's report stated that traffic organization for construction and relocation of technical infrastructure were the main causes of delays.

However, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, the above factors are only part of the influencing causes. At the same time, these factors have been identified and evaluated by relevant units in the steps of preparing feasibility study reports, planning contractor selection, surveys, etc.; they are not new factors arising during construction implementation.

Regarding compensation and site clearance, the basic construction work is carried out on the existing road. The site clearance work only affects the construction scope of the N1.2 bridge branch and the expansion of Luong Dinh Cua street; it does not affect the progress of the main items of the intersection including the HC1-01, HC1-02 underpasses, the N2, N3, N4 bridge branches and the N1.1 and N1.3 bridge branches.

However, inspections show that the progress of all construction items is slower than the original plan. For example, the HC1-01 underpass, which started construction on April 7, 2023, was originally scheduled to be completed on September 25, 2024, but was only opened to traffic on June 30, 9 months late.

HC1-02 underpass started construction on April 1, 2023, scheduled to be completed on September 20, 2024, but is expected to be completed in April 2026, 19 months late.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, the construction phase of the two above-mentioned items is from June 2024 to June 2025. The traffic organization plan is basically stable (only adjusted once), and the relocation of technical infrastructure will only affect about 2 months.

However, the progress is very slow, in fact the construction permit has to be extended many times. The construction output of the HC1-01 underpass in the last 6 months of 2024 increased by only 4%, in the first 6 months of 2025 increased by 16%. Meanwhile, the HC1-02 underpass in the last 6 months of 2024 increased by only 8%, in the first 6 months of 2025 increased by only 4%.

"Therefore, it can be seen that some stages of construction progress are slow and output is low because the contractor has not ensured human resources, materials and equipment as required. As the investor, the Traffic Department has not been decisive in handling the delay of the contractor.

The investor has not yet identified in time and has not had appropriate solutions to ensure the project's progress according to plan," the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction stated the key reason leading to the project's delay.

The Traffic Department must have drastic solutions to deal with contractors who are behind schedule.

The An Phu intersection project is located in the eastern gateway of the city, directly connecting to the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway and Long Thanh airport. The early completion of the An Phu intersection project to ensure the synchronous exploitation of Long Thanh airport when it is put into operation is extremely necessary and urgent.

Based on the above report, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction recommends that the City People's Committee assign the Director of the Traffic Department to seriously and urgently implement a number of contents to ensure the acceleration of the progress of the remaining project items.

Including checking, reviewing, and evaluating all contractors participating in the project and having drastic solutions to handle contractors behind schedule, reporting to the City People's Committee before August 25.

The Traffic Department must review specific solutions. It requires contractors to focus resources, add more construction teams, work "3 shifts, 4 shifts" to compensate for the slow volume and develop detailed progress for the remaining items.

The Director of the Traffic Department is fully responsible to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee in case of continued delay in completing the project according to the proposed plan...

DUC PHU

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nut-giao-an-phu-du-kien-cham-tien-do-12-thang-ban-giao-thong-thieu-quyet-liet-xu-ly-nha-thau-i-ach-20250820101126004.htm