On October 18, at the Government headquarters, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a meeting to listen to a report on the construction plan for Phong Chau bridge (Phu Tho).
At the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister of the Government requested the Ministry of Transport to implement the direction of General Secretary, President To Lam and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in overcoming the incident at Phong Chau bridge.
Accordingly, the investment in rebuilding Phong Chau bridge is an urgent task, must be implemented urgently and "have a special mechanism, select investors to build Phong Chau bridge as quickly as possible, ensuring safety and quality".
At the meeting, leaders of ministries, branches and Phu Tho province analyzed and discussed plans; determined progress milestones to complete the construction of Phong Chau bridge in 2025.
The opinions agreed to assign the Ministry of Transport as the investment management agency, to implement construction to meet the most timely progress, in the shortest time, with the most suitable mechanism and policies.
The ministries and branches also agreed to apply current mechanisms and regulations in emergency construction situations to complete investigation, survey, design, approval of investment decisions, apply special mechanisms in contractor selection and start the project in December 2024.
Deputy Prime Minister of the Government requested that the Ministry of Transport and the People's Committee of Phu Tho province direct contractors to carry out the work simultaneously, completing the bridge foundation construction before April 2025, before the rainy and stormy season. After that, carry out other construction items to complete the entire project in 2025.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance will coordinate with the Ministry of Transport to allocate capital for the project according to the implementation schedule.
Chairman of Phu Tho Provincial People's Committee Bui Van Quang affirmed that the greatest wish of the locality is to have a new Phong Chau bridge as soon as possible. The province has studied investment options, and realized that with the set progress milestone, having the Ministry of Transport as the investor would be the most favorable.
Agreeing with this opinion, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong said that this is an emergency project, so when the Ministry of Transport is the investor, it will be very convenient to implement the project such as not having to approve the investment policy, being allowed to appoint contractors for survey, design, construction...
The Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance also agreed to use the central budget reserve fund in 2024, disbursing according to the project's progress.
Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Duy Lam said that according to the investment procedures for construction of works in an emergency situation, it is expected that in December 2024, the Ministry will complete the procedures for approving the investment project, appointing contractors, and starting the project, including completing the survey, design, and construction of bridge piers before April 2025.
At the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister of the Government, leaders of Phu Tho province and the Ministries of Transport, Planning and Investment, Finance, Justice... agreed on a plan to start construction of Phong Chau bridge in December 2024.
