Road construction, causing damage to thousands of houses
The Central Highlands Region Traffic Connectivity Enhancement Project (National Highway 19 Improvement and Upgrade Project) has a total length of over 143km (17km through Tay Son district, Binh Dinh province; 126.34km through Gia Lai province), with a total investment of over VND 3,650 billion, invested by Project Management Board 2 (Ministry of Transport).
It is expected that by the end of October 2024, the construction unit will complete the XL-01 package of this project. However, currently, site clearance work at some locations on the route is still "not yet completed" and compensation and support for houses that have been cracked due to project construction have not been completely resolved.
According to the People's Committee of Tay Son district, up to now, the progress of the land acquisition and clearance project to renovate and upgrade National Highway 19 still has 8 electric poles on the frontage road that need to be relocated. The capital plan for compensation and site clearance for the project in 2024 is 57,594 billion VND, but currently the investor has only transferred nearly 34 billion VND to the locality.
As of September 16, the total number of households whose houses and structures were cracked due to project construction was 1,201 (781 households in Tay Giang commune and 420 households in Tay Thuan commune), the number of households whose damages had been assessed was 1,054 (113 households had not agreed with the assessment results). Of which, the investor had paid compensation to 138 households, with an amount of more than 690 million VND; the number of households that had agreed to receive the money was 150 households, with a compensation amount of more than 1 billion VND.
Slow compensation
Speaking to Lao Dong, Mr. Nguyen Van Khanh - Vice Chairman of Tay Son District People's Committee - said that the locality is urging the investor and project unit to compensate the remaining households with cracked houses. Regarding land acquisition, the district has so far paid compensation to 46 households in the area from Bau Sen bridge to Ba La bridge.
"We are currently relocating the remaining electric poles on the road surface, and at the same time, we are requesting Project Management Board 2 to add a road in the Bau Sen bridge area. Regarding the complaints of households whose houses are cracked, I will work with Project Management Board 2 to resolve them this week. Recently, at a meeting with the province, Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan promised to urge the investor to speed up compensation for households whose houses are cracked due to project construction" - Mr. Khanh said.
Previously, at the end of August 2024, Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan had a working session with the People's Committee of Binh Dinh province and Project Management Board 2 to remove obstacles in the project to renovate and upgrade National Highway 19.
At the meeting, Deputy Minister Le Anh Tuan requested the investor and contractor to work with the insurance company to pay compensation to people whose houses were affected by the project. In case people complain or sue with profit motives, they should report to the Tay Son District People's Committee and the leaders of the Binh Dinh Provincial People's Committee for handling.
Besides, the Deputy Minister also requested Project Management Board 2 and the contractor to focus on completing the project on schedule.
Living miserably because of the project
According to households in Ta Giang 2 village (Tay Giang commune, Tay Son district), since the construction unit implemented the project, the national highway roadbed has been raised 3-4m higher than the houses, and people living along both sides of the national highway have had to live with dust year after year. What makes households even more fearful is the situation of houses with large cracks and broken connections, which can collapse at any time.
