Organize scientific construction, speed up the progress of the Northern Expressway

Many problems hinder construction progress

On March 21, continuing his business trip to the Central region, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Duy Lam had a working session with contractors and project consultants of two component projects of the North - South expressway through Ha Tinh.

At the meeting, Mr. Do Thanh Chung, Deputy Director of Xuan Truong Construction Enterprise (contractor of Ham Nghi - Vung Ang Expressway) said: Currently nay some Norms and unit prices for labor and machine shifts are not close to reality. The estimated price of materials is not consistent with the local price level, causing a series of contractors to face difficulties... Although specific material mines have been granted to contractors to exploit for the project, up to now there is still no guidance. on how to calculate material prices at the mine.

In addition, the design survey work has some deviations from the field. “Initially, it was planned to use 700.000 m3 of stone from Km560 hill to make concrete stone and grade 1 crushed stone. But in reality, only about 100.000 m3 could be used, causing the unit to fall into a passive state. materials for making bridges and culverts, adjustment documents must be prepared.

Or like the location of Km535 hill, the initial design plan was to dig. But when working, we encountered many hard rocks that had to be blasted. But if you want to blast mines, it takes 3 months to complete the procedures... Worth mentioning, when the weather is good, the unit must go through the procedures. When the procedure was completed, it was raining and windy again. These issues have greatly affected the progress and output of construction," Mr. Chung gave an example. 

Mr. Chung hopes that through the meeting, the Ministry of Transport will direct the Project Management Board and Consultants to join hands with the contractors to resolve remaining problems.

Also at the Ham Nghi - Vung Ang expressway project, Mr. Mai Anh Dong - General Director of Joint Stock Company 471 said that the unit is implementing it simultaneously throughout the project. Progress reached 33%. 

Similar to other contractors, the biggest difficulty with 471 is the standard unit price and material adjustment issues.

According to Mr. Dong, looking at the report, it can be seen that the disbursement rate in this project is low, while the actual construction output of the contractor is high. The reason is that the approved output and payment after adjusting the material source are still small. 

Therefore, the contractor requested the Ministry to direct the Project Management Board and consultants to quickly approve, or increase the rate of temporary approval of the work done for the contractor. For locations where technical design must be adjusted or soft soil treatment solutions must be changed, after the Board and consultants approve implementation on the construction site, they also approve and sign the payment dossier appendix to the contractors. bids or updated at fixed intervals to avoid disbursement backlogs.

Sharing the contractor's difficulties, Deputy Minister Lam said that the design survey unit needs to be more careful. During the survey process with locations using salvaged materials, the drill bit thickness must be increased to closely assess the geology. As reflected by the contractor, because the design is not close to reality, it leads to having to buy materials from commercial mines and buy commercial concrete, affecting the contractor's construction progress.

On the consulting side, engineer Nguyen Ngoc Dung - Project Manager of package 12 Ham Nghi - Vung Ang (HECO Company) said: During the survey process, due to the limited number of drill bits, it was not possible to fully evaluate the reserves. and quality of materials at the place of use. As soon as a discrepancy was discovered, the consultant worked with the Board to prepare documents and immediately approve adjustments for the contractor.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Van - Deputy Director of the Department of Construction Investment Management (Ministry of Transport) assessed: Looking at the current progress and the remaining time, the project can completely reach the finish line in June 6. 

However, Mr. Van also expressed concern when the contractors set a schedule that was not linked to the overall construction method and the site. 

“Units need to review the overall situation, construction plans must be linked to the site. At the same time, continue to review and handle problems that arise after the route is formed, such as: Drainage system, traffic safety system, intersections... The process must be consistent in terms of documents and procedures. , control the origin and quality of materials for the project," Mr. Van said and added: As for the issue of material prices at the mine, the Construction Investment Management Department has worked with the Department of Construction Economics (Ministry of Construction). Construction) for early review and guidance on how to calculate prices.

Project quality is a decisive factor for the survival of an enterprise and the political life of project managers

Recognizing the efforts of the contractors at both North-South expressway projects through Ha Tinh, Deputy Minister Nguyen Duy Lam emphasized: The contractors participating in the project were carefully selected by the Ministry of Transport, and are capable, experienced units and especially those who have participated in previous expressway projects. Being selected is an honor but also a responsibility.

This project started construction in January 1, with some packages being 2023-1 months later. But after 2 months (nearly half of the project implementation time), the contractors have only achieved about 14% of the workload (about 1% for Xuan Truong alone). 

“We are also striving to complete the project ahead of schedule, reaching the target date of June 30, 6. Thus, the project construction time is only 2025 months, with a lot of work remaining. We have overcome the most difficult things in the early stages, now we have to try harder and harder" - the Deputy Minister said and asked the contractor to re-aware of his responsibilities. 

“Contractors who are trusted and selected must fulfill their commitments to the investor and the Ministry of Transport. No matter how you do it, you still have to put quality first. It is necessary to determine that quality is a decisive factor for the survival of the enterprise and the political life of project managers. Contractors must be very careful, this is a direct contractor project, so everything must be done in a concise manner, and the documents and procedures must be in the correct order and complete," the Deputy Minister emphasized. 

For more information, the Deputy Minister said: The Ministry of Transport is directing relevant units to remove difficulties for contractors and coordinate with the Ministry of Construction to soon issue a new set of regulations on unit price norms. 

However, the contractor himself must make efforts in advance, based on weather conditions and construction site conditions, to work overtime and develop a construction plan to suit reality. The project's time is running out, so the contractor must speed up the progress now. At the same time, prepare supplies and materials, don't let them get pushed to the last stage.

The Deputy Minister also required consulting units to highlight their roles and responsibilities to promptly support contractors in handling arising problems and approving documents. Project Management Boards continue to closely monitor localities to completely resolve site problems.

“The Minister has directed that with 12 North-South expressway component projects phase 2, when the road is put into operation, rest stops, smart traffic operation centers, and feeder roads must be completed at the same time. Therefore, from now on, the Project Management Board must develop an implementation plan," the Deputy Minister noted.