On April 2, information from Project Management Board 4 (Ministry of Construction) said that up to now, the project to renovate and upgrade National Highway 7 section Km0 - Km36 and handle the landslide section Khe Thoi - Nam Can, Nghe An province has not been able to be completed due to not being handed over enough land for construction.
The project to renovate and upgrade National Highway 7, section Km0 - Km36, and handle landslides, Khe Thoi - Nam Can section, Nghe An province, started in September 2022, expected to be completed before December 31, 2023.
Thus, 2 and a half years have passed, after many delays due to land clearance problems, the project has not yet reached the finish line.
The entire 27.5km project passes through Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, and Do Luong districts (Nghe An), with a total investment of more than 1,300 billion VND. The project has strategic significance when connecting with the North - South expressway, creating momentum for regional development.
As of the end of March 2025, the new site has been handed over more than 97%, but the main bottlenecks are in Dien Chau and Yen Thanh districts, causing disruption of the route, seriously affecting the construction. Dien Cat commune (Dien Chau) alone is still stuck with 383m, affecting 38 plots of land; My Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) still has more than 577m that have not been cleared.
The delay in handing over the site has caused the bidding packages to be extended many times. To date, the total construction output of the project has only reached more than 81% of the contract value. Some contractors have to "shelter" machinery waiting for construction, while people living on both sides of the road are miserable because of dust and degraded roads.
On April 2, speaking with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, the leader of Dien Chau District People's Committee said that there are still land plots related to 15 more households, and other vulnerable sections have been handed over.
"We will try to complete the handover of the site to the construction unit in the coming time" - said the leader of Dien Chau District People's Committee but did not commit to a specific time.
According to Mr. Hoang Van Chau - Executive Director of National Highway 7 project, Project Management Board 4, continued delays in site clearance will greatly affect the overall progress of the project.
If the project is not completed, it will lead to loss and waste, affecting traffic safety and environmental sanitation on the route, as well as the project's investment goals and efficiency.
In order to complete the bidding packages according to the approved timeline, the construction contractors requested the provincial and district leaders on the route to be drastic and active to work with the investor to urgently remove and soon hand over the clean ground.
"If the site clearance for the remaining sections is delayed, the project is at risk of having its capital cut and handed over to the locality for management" - Mr. Hoang Van Chau, Executive Director of National Highway 7 project emphasized.
