In the last days of March, at many traffic construction sites in the highlands of Lao Cai, it is not difficult to encounter a messy scene: the road surface is dug unfinished, materials are scattered, and machinery is waiting. Many sections of the route are interrupted, some are completed, some are left empty, creating "smooth roads" that have lasted for many years.
The Quang Kim - Coc San connecting road project, more than 7km long, with a total investment of 50 billion VND, once expected to open an important traffic axis for rural areas, has not yet been completed after more than 3 years of implementation.
In Dong Quang village, just a light rain, the road under construction turns muddy and slippery. The roadbed sections that have been completed are "broken" in locations without clearance, making people's travel even more difficult.
According to Mr. Nguyen Sy Trong - Deputy Director of Minh Duc General Construction Co., Ltd. (the construction unit), the biggest reason for the project being prolonged is that the site handover is not continuous.
There are sections that have been cleared, interspersed with locations that have not been compensated for, and even hindered by unremoved power poles. The entire route is therefore divided, making it impossible to organize synchronous construction," Mr. Trong said.
Also according to the contractor representative, the "tough" construction not only prolongs the progress but also affects the quality of the project, especially at the junctions between the part that has and does not have land. Currently, the project still has about 3km to "wait for land" to continue implementation.
A similar situation also occurred on the road to the center of Phin Ngan commune (now Bat Xat commune), with a total investment of 34 billion VND. After nearly 4 years of construction, the project has only completed about 3.5/6.8km.
Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan - technical officer of Dong A Import-Export Production Joint Stock Company - said that in addition to site clearance issues, the project also lacks filling soil, making many sections unable to be implemented.
Machinery and manpower are ready but there is no land to build the foundation. We need about 20,000 cubic meters of soil but still have to wait for the investor to arrange resources. Some locations still have to adjust the design, so it is even longer," Mr. Tuan said.
On March 31, in an exchange with Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Vu Van Sinh - Director of the Bat Xat Area Project Management and Construction Investment Board (the investor of the 2 projects mentioned above) - said that the main reason for the slow progress of projects is that people have not agreed in site clearance work along with the high increase in material prices.
According to Mr. Sinh, prolonged construction is slowing down the project progress, wasting money for businesses, from labor maintenance costs to machinery and equipment.
In addition to promoting site clearance, the Board has worked and exchanged many times, requesting contractors to develop specific plans to accelerate progress.
Leaders of some highland communes also admitted - when the site has not been handed over synchronously, contractors can hardly deploy construction on a large scale. Having to "avoid" uncleared points makes the construction teams divided and unable to promote efficiency.
In the coming time, local authorities will focus on implementing many solutions, especially the work of inventorying and paying publicly and transparently to create high consensus among the people.
Only then can transportation projects be deployed smoothly, promote investment efficiency and truly become a driving force to promote socio-economic development.
