Phu Tho overcomes difficulties in land clearance for railway route

To ensure the progress of the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway project, the section passing through Phu Tho, which is more than 99km long, the province is making efforts to remove obstacles in site clearance.

Resolutely clear the land, ensure project progress

The Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway project, the section passing through Phu Tho, is about 99.1km long, passing through 5 wards and 15 communes; the total land area is expected to be over 630ha and needs to resettle over 1,800 households; the number of resettlement areas planned to be built is 36. In addition, to construct the route, it is also necessary to move nearly 300 locations of medium and low voltage power lines and transformer stations, and nearly 200 lighting poles.

The Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway project, the section passing through Phu Tho, is about 99.1km long. Photo: Khanh Trang.

In addition, many infrastructure projects such as schools, industrial clusters, urban areas, logistics projects, drainage projects, etc. are affected. To implement site clearance, the Provincial People's Committee has requested the Ministry of Construction to consider and report to competent authorities to promptly allocate capital to carry out compensation, support and resettlement of the project, of which 800 billion VND in 2025 and 11,563.2 billion VND in the remaining years.

Immediately after the merger, Phu Tho has completed the Steering Committee for Land Acquisition and Clearance, made detailed plans, assigned tasks to Project Management Boards and relevant agencies to review, measure, make compensation estimates, and at the same time started the work of making resettlement plans. The province has also compiled a list of infrastructure works that need to be relocated, and prepared documents for moving social and technical infrastructure in affected areas.

Currently, the Vinh Phuc Regional Project Management Board has measured and adjusted the cadastral map with 211.18 hectares of recovered land area (reaching 100%); organized meetings with people to implement the project, determine resettlement locations, build new or expand cemeteries for 7/9 related communes; inventory agricultural land and graves for 3/9 communes; plan to build 11 resettlement areas; 6 cemeteries; relocate 24 water pipe locations; relocate 1 school; assign a consulting unit to survey and relocate power lines...

Despite high determination, the progress of site clearance is still under a lot of pressure. The biggest difficulty now is that the local budget is not able to advance capital for compensation, support and resettlement in the two years 2025 - 2026. The province is forced to petition the Central Government to soon arrange funding sources.

In addition, after the administrative boundary merger, a number of compensation and support mechanisms and policies issued previously no longer have sufficient legal basis. Meanwhile, the method of implementing site clearance in parallel with the process of preparing the project's feasibility study report currently has no specific regulations. The Ministry of Construction has not yet issued guidelines for provinces and cities to uniformly implement the entire route that the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway project passes through, ensuring compliance with current regulations...

Land surveying, inventorying, determining land use rights and technical infrastructure in some localities also encountered many difficulties due to the large volume of work and complicated documents. In some areas, the agreement on compensation plans, unit prices and resettlement locations still needed more time to propagate and mobilize to create consensus among the people.

Synchronize solutions, determined to ensure progress

Realizing that if land acquisition is delayed, it will lead to many consequences such as increased investment costs, affecting construction progress, and reducing economic spillover effects, the People's Committee of Phu Tho province has directed agencies and units to focus highly on this task. The Provincial Steering Committee for Land Acquisition and Clearance has strengthened inspection and supervision of progress in each locality; issued specific compensation plans, clearly identified the responsible focal point and the completion time of each item.

Mr. Tran Duy Dong - Chairman of Phu Tho Provincial People's Committee chaired the Conference to direct the site clearance work for the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway project, the section passing through the area. Photo: Phu Tho Newspaper .

The province also promotes dialogue, transparency in compensation, support and resettlement plans; and strengthens propaganda so that people clearly understand the policies, rights and obligations when the State reclaims land. Localities with complicated problems in relocating public works, graves, etc. are required to develop their own plans, ensuring harmony between legal, cultural and spiritual factors.

Some localities have proactively accelerated the establishment and construction of resettlement areas. Typically, the Ao Vanh - Bo Tro - Go Den resettlement area project, Van Phu ward and Phu Tho Regional Project Management Board are coordinating to strictly control the progress, urgently complete compensation and site clearance work; directing resolutely and closely to accelerate the construction progress; strengthening inspection, urging, promptly resolving difficulties and problems during the implementation process.

With a huge amount of work and many complicated factors, the site clearance work for the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway project through Phu Tho is considered a key task of the entire political system. Although there are still many difficulties, with a methodical approach, proactive spirit and consensus of the people, Phu Tho is determined to complete site clearance on schedule, creating conditions for the commencement of the first items in 2025.

When the railway is completed, Phu Tho will not only become an important transit point in the national transport network but also open up opportunities for strong development in industry and logistics services, contributing to promoting regional connectivity and enhancing the province's position in the economic development chain.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/phu-tho-go-kho-trong-giai-phong-mat-bang-tuyen-duong-sat-d781356.html