Long delay
The project to handle unsafe locations across Khau Coc Cha Pass (Bao Lac District) started in June 2023 with a total capital of 39 billion VND. The funding source is allocated by the Ministry of Transport, with the Cao Bang Provincial Department of Transport as the investor.
In this renovation, items such as: Expanding the view, paving the entire road with asphalt concrete, adding a traffic safety system, building a technical inspection point before going down the pass; reinforcing the curb and adding longitudinal grooves to ensure the ability to exploit, maintain the life of the roadbed, surface and traffic safety of the pass will be renewed and repaired.
According to information from the People's Committee of Bao Lac district, the project was expected to be completed in December 2023 and then postponed to the first quarter of 2024. This project was extended for the third time to be completed in June 2024, however, to date, construction is still unfinished.
At the project, contractors are still working on some curves. Most of the 15-level pass has been paved with asphalt and a guardrail system has been built. Also at the construction site, with the naked eye, it is possible to see some landslides and road surfaces affected by the impact of storm No. 3 (Yagi) in September 2024.
Latest information from the investor, the workload is almost finished, the unit is directing the contractor to strive to complete the project. However, the prolonged construction in the past has caused many inconveniences for the people.
Around April 2024, when the contractor was blasting, rocks and dirt flew out, and motorcyclists had to carry their motorbikes instead of being able to pass normally. The People's Committee of Bao Lac district had sent a document requesting the People's Committee of Cao Bang province to direct units to speed up the construction progress to avoid troubles caused by prolonged construction.
3 renewals still pending
Explaining the reason for the slow construction progress, the investor representative said that it was due to having to construct on complex terrain, many overlapping curves, narrow road surfaces, and many high-voltage power pole systems within the blasting and rock-breaking range, making construction difficult.
Talking to reporters, Mr. Dam Van Quang (residing in Bao Lac district, Cao Bang province) said: "The project has been taking too long, and before, there were explosives blocking the road, so people had a lot of inconvenience when traveling. I hope that the authorities will direct the contractor to do it quickly to make the road more convenient for everyone."
Regarding this project, the leaders of Cao Bang Provincial People's Committee have repeatedly come to inspect directly, requesting the investor and contractors to speed up the construction progress to ensure the quality of the project, in accordance with the design, on schedule, ensuring absolute safety during both construction and exploitation, handling potential traffic safety risks, especially the locations of hanging cliffs; the use of rocks as materials must be licensed by the competent authority, and it is not allowed to take advantage of construction to sell materials and minerals.
Khau Coc Cha Pass is located on National Highway 4A, 2.5km long, this is the only road connecting Xuan Truong commune with the center of Bao Lac district. With 15 levels of the pass, 14 bends clinging to the rocky mountains, driving will bring a new feeling. For a long time, this pass has become one of the tourist symbols of Cao Bang province.
The project of the Works to handle unsafe locations through Khau Coc Cha Pass has the investor being the Department of Transport of Cao Bang province. The supervising consultant is the Northern Transport Construction Design Consulting Joint Stock Company. The design consultant is Dong A Investment and Design Joint Stock Company. The construction contractor is BDC Vietnam Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company.
