VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnamese Government has confirmed its
support for speeding up the site clearance for construction projects to avoid
delays which may cause losses to contractors.
Chairman of the Office of the
Government, Minister Vu Duc Dam, confirmed this to media last week in response
to questions about a recent case in which a Japanese contractor charged the
Ministry of Transport VND200 billion (US$9.52 million) for tardiness in Ha Noi's
ongoing Nhat Tan Bridge Project.
Seeing the site clearance issue
as an important factor in delays to this case along with many others, Dam said
the Government had assigned the transport ministry to work with local
authorities to solve project problems.
The Nhat Tan bridge, one of seven
planned to span the Hong (Red) River, has had an investment of VND7 trillion
($358 million) from Japanese ODA and reciprocal capital provided by the
Vietnamese Government. The Japanese Tokyu Construction Company is in charge of
a VND1.30 trillion ($62.4 million) contract package, which includes building
roads connecting the two sides of the bridge to the existent traffic system.
The work started from early 2009 and the contractor pledged to finish within 34
months. However, at this stage only a reported 60 per cent has been completed
due to the slowness of site clearance, which Ha Noi has responsibility for.
The Tokyu Company, as a result,
claimed the money as cover for expensive losses it incurred after delays caused
by the Vietnamese side.
The Japan International
Co-operation Agency (JICA) in Viet Nam, which is in charge of ODA projects,
estimated the project has been delayed by two years.
Tsuno Motonori, JICA's Chief
Representative said that money was calculated based on the signed contract with
Tokyu as the main contractor.
"However, Tokyu also signed
contracts with sub-contractors so the money is overrunning for those
sub-contractors as well," he said.
"We hope that the Vietnamese
Government will continue to effectively and efficiently use the ODA in the near
future, based on the lessons and experiences learned from previous cases,"
he said, adding that Viet Nam was still evaluated to be among the countries
using ODA effectively.
Nguyen Quang Toan, former head of
the University of Transport and Communication's department for bridges and
roads, told the Nguoi lao dong (The Labourer) newspaper that the contractors
must mobilise its staff and equipment to meet project deadlines. Other than
that they can do no more.
"When the investor fails to
meet its commitment in site clearance, it should pay the losses of the
contractors," he argued.
"We need to transparently
explore what went wrong in this case to help speed up and improve the quality
of constructions in the future,' he said, adding that it was time to see the
delays in site clearance as a severe problem in Viet Nam.
In another development, Deputy
Minister of Transport Le Manh Hung told local media that it would be difficult
for Tokyu Company to get the money as elements of the Nhat Tan Bridge were
still in the negotiation stage.
However, the ministry would
discuss and draw lessons from this case, he promised.
Locals' voices
Forty-year-old Nguyen Van Luu, a
resident living near Ta Hong Dyke in Dong Anh District said the reason he was
slow to move was the lack of information provided.
Luu and his neighbours' houses
were in the clearance area for the construction of a flying bridge within the
Nhat Tan Bridge's zone 3.
"At first, residents did not
get a clear announcement about how the resettlement process would work from the
management board," he said.
"When we got to talk to
them, we found the compensation price and the location and quality of the new
resettlement area to be unclear," he said.
Sharing a similar story from the
other shore of the river, 35-year-old Nguyen Bich Thuy (not her real name), a
resident in Cau Giay District's Nghia Do Ward, said that the lack of
transparency in the site clearance process hindered her familiy as well as the
other 10 neighbouring households from moving.
Thuy said that although the
authorities had come to measure the land for site clearance for five
consecutive years, there had been no further action taken.
"The project management
board just has had a draft compensation offer, saying that each household will
be compensated with an apartment or supported with house rent," she said.
"However, they have failed
to show us where the apartment is and how large it is. We haven't even got the
information about the date we would have to move out," she continued,
adding that for the last five years, her family and neighbours could not sell
or repair their houses since they knew nothing about the resettlement plans.
"Every year, they come at
the beginning and tell us to prepare to move out by the end of the year and
then they disappear, again and again. Meanwhile, we the residents living in the
construction area are left to wait, and wait for nothing."
Dam from the Government's Office
said that there were many cases in which people living in the areas for site
clearance would be resistant to moving.
"However, the country has to
develop so we need to build roads, bridges and new urban areas," he said.
"We need to make sure that progress and the interests of the people are in
harmony".
Source: VNS
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