Land clearance problems, many missed deadlines
The Bac Son extended road project (Thai Nguyen) is considered a vital traffic route connecting the administrative center of the province with Nui Coc lake tourism area. The project is 9.5km long, with a total investment of more than VND 2,100 billion, implemented in the form of public-private partnership (PPP), construction - transfer (BT) contract, with Xuan Truong Construction Private Enterprise as the investor.
Started in July 2018, the project is expected to be completed in December 2019. However, after more than 6 years, the project has not been able to reach the finish line, although the project is identified as one of the urban and tourism development axes of the province. The reason is believed to be problems in site clearance and the lack of a BT payment mechanism for investors.
According to the People's Committee of Thai Nguyen City (old), compensation work at some locations such as the service road on both sides of the railway overpass and the section from the Z115 intersection to the highway has not been completed due to cases of not yet agreed compensation prices, and difficulties in relocating technical infrastructure works (electricity, water, telecommunications). These shortcomings make it difficult for the construction unit to synchronously deploy the entire route.
On the other hand, although it has signed a BT contract at the beginning of the phase, the People's Committee of Thai Nguyen province has not been able to pay the counterpart land fund. The lack of a payment mechanism that has lasted for many years has made it difficult for investors to mobilize comprehensive construction resources, directly affecting the project's progress.
Removing site obstacles
To resolve the long-standing problem, on April 3, 2025, the Government Office issued Notice No. 152/TB-VPCP, conveying the opinion of Central Party Committee member and Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha agreeing to allow the People's Committee of Thai Nguyen province to use the land fund that has been cleared to pay the investor of the Bac Son Road extension project in accordance with the content of the BT contract.
The document also requires the Provincial People's Committee to complete the payment of land funds before April 30, 2025, ensuring compliance with legal regulations, preventing negativity, waste, and loss of State assets.
Immediately after the direction, the People's Committee of Thai Nguyen province reviewed the entire project and urgently resolved the bottlenecks in land.
At the inspection and on-site of the project, Ms. Nguyen Thi Loan - Vice Chairman of Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Committee requested the competent authority to completely hand over the areas with backlog to ensure progress. According to the investor's report, by the end of the second quarter of 2025, the overall progress of the project reached about 95% of the volume.
According to the reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper in early July 2025, items such as asphalt concrete road pavement, installation of lighting systems, fire water supply, tree planting... have been basically completed.
Notably, the enterprise also proposed to adjust some items to suit the reality: replace Terrazzo tiles with Rh Rh decoration stone tiles, adjust the type of trees and add asphalt concrete layer on the cement concrete road surface to increase the life of the road.
Mr. Do Thanh Chung - Director of Xuan Truong Construction Enterprise affirmed that the unit has mobilized all equipment and machinery, organizing 10 construction teams spread across the entire route. The construction is currently focusing on 3 main groups of items: sidewalk system, trees and lighting.
According to the plan, the project will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025. When completed, the route will synchronously connect the central area with Nui Coc lake area, contributing to completing the transportation network, promoting tourism and urban development of the province. The project is also expected to be a boost to expand the province's development space in the coming period, thereby raising the urban level of the area.
