Hundred billion project becomes buffalo pasture
On October 21 and 22, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters were present at Lao Cai Provincial Stadium (in Binh Minh Ward, Lao Cai City) and recorded the unfinished construction. Around the stadium were piles of garbage, and the concrete drainage system was cracked and degraded.
Because there are not many sports activities organized, the weeds grow tall and turn into grazing grounds for people's livestock.
Lao Cai Provincial Stadium project started in May 2016 and was inaugurated in 2017. The project is invested by the Department of Construction and is planned within the overall cultural and sports complex with a scale of 75 hectares.
Of which, the Lao Cai Provincial Stadium project (phase 1) has a total investment of 146 billion VND. The project was designed by the Lao Cai Provincial Institute of Architecture and Planning, and the construction unit is a joint venture between Licogi 14 Joint Stock Company and Quyet Tien Construction Corporation.
The items that have been built include: 6 roads with a total length of 1.9km surrounding the stadium; the main field area is 10,032m2; the international standard football field is 68x105m wide; a 2m safety corridor...
To serve the project implementation, 165 households of Binh Minh ward had to give up their residential and farming land.
However, after 7 years of operation, the auxiliary items and lighting... are still not complete.It is called a stadium, but through observation with the naked eye you can see that there is only a football field and a running track, no stands, no lighting system...
Therefore, when organizing sports activities, spectators can only stand around to watch.
Even the "international standard" soccer field surface is not trimmed, causing the grass to grow almost knee-high in many places. The goal posts are rusty and have no nets.
Children are not interested in playing
Mr. Hoang Van Chien (Coc Leu ward, Lao Cai city) said: "The stadium of Lao Cai province has been inaugurated for nearly 10 years but there are few sports activities. The grass grows so high that children do not even bother to play soccer because they can easily trip and fall. Therefore, people often bring buffaloes here to graze."
On the afternoon of October 21, speaking with Lao Dong, Mr. Phi Cong Hoan - Director of Lao Cai Department of Construction said: "The province's stadium project has implemented phase 1 and completed the site. Currently, the Department of Construction is no longer the investor but has transferred to the Department of Culture and Sports, so whether or not there is a plan to do the next items will depend on them."
Director of Lao Cai Department of Culture and Sports Dinh Minh Ha informed: “The province’s stadium still organizes annual sports activities. Like other provinces and cities, only major programs take place at the stadium each year, while some activities are organized at the fields and gymnasiums below.”
According to the Director of Lao Cai Department of Culture and Sports, the provincial stadium project has implemented phase 1, phase 2 is part of the medium-term planning of the "Olympic Village" for the period 2025-2035 so it has not been implemented yet.
“Lao Cai Stadium is currently only developing the ground, grass field and running track. Items such as lights, stands... are not yet available. We have also proposed many times, the province has included the project in the planning, so now we are just waiting for funding,” said Ms. Dinh Minh Ha.
