Responsibility for construction inspection from the case of Song Lo bridge pier with exposed steel core

(Dan Tri) - Citing the case of the Song Lo bridge pier being seriously degraded, a National Assembly delegate emphasized that this is a very worrying issue. He raised many questions about the quality and responsibility of inspection and acceptance of the project.

This content was mentioned in the discussion session at the National Assembly hall on the morning of November 14, about the draft revised Law on Construction.

Vice Chairman of the Committee for Culture and Society Ta Van Ha emphasized that this amendment to the Construction Law must overcome a chronic and incurable disease that has lasted for many years, which is that public investment construction projects must be adjusted many times, take a long time, increase capital, and are behind schedule.

“We have come up with many solutions for all of those things, over many terms and many years, but they have not been resolved,” Mr. Ha said, pointing out the problem from the investment preparation stage.

Vice Chairman of the Committee for Culture and Social Affairs Ta Van Ha (Photo: Hong Phong).

According to Mr. Ha, in other countries, investment preparation time is very long but construction is done in a short period of time, but in our country it is the opposite, preparation takes a few months but construction takes 4-5 years.

Considering this situation to be difficult and costly in many ways, delegate Ta Van Ha proposed that the law be amended to put an end to this.

Another shortcoming pointed out by Mr. Ha is the inspection and acceptance of construction quality, especially with key projects.

Citing the case of the Song Lo bridge pier being severely degraded, Mr. Ha emphasized that this is a very worrying issue. He also raised many questions about the quality of inspection, acceptance of the project and the responsibilities in these stages.

“The law must be amended to resolutely end this situation. We must do fewer projects but ensure quality and value. If we chase quantity, it is very dangerous,” Mr. Ha said, suggesting clarifying the responsibility of state management agencies in this field.

Regarding the regulation on exemption from construction permits, Mr. Ha assessed this as a progressive step. Opinions suggested boldly removing it, but there were also people who were worried that "when the permit is removed, people will build haphazardly". Mr. Ha affirmed that the licensing procedure is removed, not the State management.

Delegates attend the discussion session at the National Assembly on the morning of November 14 (Photo: Hong Phong).

“In big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, hundreds of thousands of constructions need to be licensed every year, but it has been clear how the licenses are issued. Can licensing solve the problem of why there are still so many violations?”, Mr. Ha questioned.

He said he was “very allergic” to adding licensing procedures that increased unofficial costs for people, prolonged time, and even caused negative consequences.

In terms of management, the delegate emphasized that there are already public and transparent construction standards and regulations, so management only needs to be based on them. Along with post-inspection, according to Mr. Ha, it is necessary to strengthen post-inspection, inspection and application of technology, and strictly handle violations.

Another issue that Mr. Ha suggested was that when decentralizing and delegating power, the provincial and municipal levels need to calculate to ensure sufficient capacity and qualifications in terms of staff. "Each city has to have tens of thousands of construction projects each year. If the staff cannot meet the task, and then continue to decentralize important projects, then further calculations are needed," Mr. Ha stated his opinion.

Delegate Hoang Van Cuong (Hanoi) also supported amending the law to reduce pre-inspection and increase post-inspection, especially for individual construction projects.

Share concerns about the regulation of exemption from construction permits for individual construction works with a scale of less than 7 floors built in rural areas.

National Assembly Delegate Hoang Van Cuong (Photo: Hong Phong).

“So if this construction project has an unexpected event, collapses, causes accidents and damages, will the State ignore it or not? I think the State still has to investigate, still has to find the cause, still has to handle it,” Mr. Cuong said.

The delegate emphasized that regardless of whether the project belongs to the people or anyone else, the State must still pay attention and manage to ensure technical safety and safety of life.

Mr. Cuong suggested that the law should stipulate that all construction works, including individual works, except for level 4 houses, must have a design drawing made by a professional design consultancy unit. This unit will be responsible not only for the technical aspects of the work, but also for compliance with planning and construction standards and procedures.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/thoi-su/trach-nhiem-kiem-dinh-cong-trinh-tu-vu-tru-cau-song-lo-tro-loi-thep-20251114112236522.htm