Witnessing the trillion-dollar project being constructed at a "turtle-like" pace in Can Tho

TPO - After many years of construction, the Can Tho Oncology Hospital Project worth more than 1,700 billion VND is still unfinished and cannot be put into operation. The Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang Expressway Project through Can Tho City is also behind schedule. The conclusion of the Government Inspectorate, which was just announced, pointed out many errors in project management, construction, and implementation, causing the two projects to be behind schedule, with potential risks of waste.

After nearly 8 years of construction, the Can Tho Oncology Hospital Project - a key medical project of the whole region, with an investment capital of more than 1,700 billion VND, is still in disarray. The project has only completed the rough construction and has stopped construction since 2022 until now. The recent conclusion of the Government Inspectorate pointed out many violations, recommended to review the city's leaders and related individuals and units. Meanwhile, people are still waiting for a proper specialized oncology hospital to be put into use.

The Can Tho Oncology Hospital project was approved in 2017, with a scale of 500 beds and an investment capital of more than VND 1,700 billion, including ODA loans from the Hungarian Government and local budget counterpart funds. However, by July 2022, the project was forced to stop construction when it was only 80% completed because the loan agreement expired.

The Government Inspectorate determined that during the implementation process, the contractor consortium did not ensure the proportion of Hungarian goods (must be over 50%). When the project stopped construction, only 1/123 equipment was of Hungarian origin (0.78%). Responsibility for this was determined to belong to the contractor consortium (providing false information) and the Can Tho Department of Health (investor), when it falsely reported the proportion of 50.07% Hungarian goods. Photo: Many hospital items have just completed the foundation and concrete frame, now overgrown with grass.

The Inspectorate also pointed out: Can Tho City People's Committee approved the project without the consent of the Ministry of Health; Group A project but only designed 2 steps instead of 3 steps as prescribed; approved before environmental impact assessment; delayed approval of design adjustments for nearly 2 years, incurred more than 11 billion VND in costs for storing goods. Photo: Concrete blocks covered with dust, moss, rusted iron and steel after many years of exposure to the sun and rain.

The Government Inspectorate concluded that during the project implementation, the People's Committee of Can Tho City, the Department of Health of Can Tho, the consortium of contractors and consulting units had shortcomings and violations, leading to the project being behind schedule, and potentially wasting about 300 billion VND of loan capital and local budget.

Notably, the EPC package was designated but did not comply with the Law on Bidding; the technical documents were inaccurate; the signed contract was unclear about the origin of the equipment, code, and manufacturer; the contractor changed the equipment many times without being sanctioned. By the time the loan expired (July 2022), the implementation volume had only reached 21.3% of the contract value.

In October, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh personally inspected the existing Oncology Hospital and the unfinished project. During the inspection, the Prime Minister directed ministries and Can Tho City to promptly switch the project to domestic capital for re-construction, to be completed in 2026. The Government Inspectorate recommended recovering more than 3.8 million EUR in advance payments to the contractor consortium; recommended the Prime Minister direct the organization of a review of the responsibilities of the leaders of the Can Tho City People's Committee related to the shortcomings and shortcomings pointed out; the Chairman of the Can Tho City People's Committee organized a review, clearly determined the nature, extent and consequences to handle according to the law the leaders of the Can Tho Department of Health and related units.

The Government Inspectorate has also just announced the inspection conclusion of Component Project 2 (section through the old Can Tho City) and Component Project 4 (section through the old Soc Trang) of the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang Expressway, Phase 1. Component Projects 2 and 4 have a total investment of VND9,725 billion and VND12,000 billion, respectively, from the state budget. Before the merger of provinces and cities, Component Project 2 was invested by Can Tho, Component Project 4 was invested by Soc Trang province.

At the expressway project, the Government Inspectorate discovered that the bidding documents lacked provisions on prohibited conduct, technical criteria and competition assurance. The contract with the contractor also used subcontractors in violation of regulations. The investor had not approved detailed progress by phase, and had not handled contractors who were behind schedule; the supervision consultant had not submitted periodic reports and had not conducted regular inspections. The capacity of the Project Management Board was not guaranteed when many staff did not have or had expired practice certificates; the supervision consultant and construction contractor had mobilized personnel and equipment not in accordance with the contract.

At Component 4, the progress of the bidding packages is very slow, especially in the road embankment category, which is at risk of not being completed on time by July 2026. By July 2025, the disbursement rate only reached 24.9% of the annual plan, forcing the Project Management Board to propose a reduction of VND 1,500 billion in central budget capital. According to the Government Inspectorate, the main causes of delays and violations in the projects are the lack of coordination between management agencies, weak organizational capacity, and violations in bidding and contract supervision.

From the violations pointed out, the Government Inspectorate recommended that the Prime Minister direct a review of the responsibilities of the leaders of the People's Committee of Can Tho City (formerly) and the leaders of Soc Trang Province (formerly) related to the limitations in component projects 2 and 4 of the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang Expressway. Can Tho was asked to review the entire project, during which if signs of crime were discovered, the file must be transferred to the investigation agency for handling. Photo: NH

Source: https://tienphong.vn/tan-thay-du-an-nghin-ty-thi-cong-kieu-rua-bo-o-can-tho-post1795226.tpo