Thuận An Group Participates in $1.4 Billion Project in Bac Giang

On April 17th, the Đồng Việt Bridge project in Yên Dũng district (Bắc Giang) related to Thuan An Group, whose Chairman and General Director were recently arrested, showed that many spans of the bridge had been completed; the abutments connecting Hải Dương and Bắc Giang provinces have mostly been formed, and the bridge body is under construction.

At the project site, Mr. Nguyễn Văn N., a worker on the Đồng Việt bridge project, said that he works for a joint venture company with Thuan An Group. Despite the arrest of Thuan An Group’s leaders, the joint venture company’s workers continued to work normally on the Đồng Việt bridge project.

According to the reporter’s investigation, the Đồng Việt Bridge project is funded by the Bắc Giang provincial budget and local government bonds. The project is owned by the Bắc Giang Provincial Project Management Board for Investment in Construction of Transport and Agricultural Works. The Đồng Việt Bridge is expected to be completed and put into use in 2024.

Đồng Việt Bridge is designed on a scale that is the most modern in Bắc Giang province and neighboring provinces. The starting point of the bridge (Km0+00) is in Cảnh Thụy commune (Yên Dũng) and passes through the Đức Giang Urban Industrial and Service Zone, the Đồng Phúc Urban Industrial and Service Zone, crossing the Thương River (about 2.4 km downstream from the Đồng Việt ferry).

When completed, the Đồng Việt Bridge promises to promote the flow of goods, develop tourism, and create conditions to attract investors to industrial parks and clusters in Bắc Giang province. The bridge will also expand the connection between Bắc Giang province with Hải Dương and other provinces and cities in the region.

However, the authorities have pointed out that this thousand-billion-dollar project was not included in the Bắc Giang province’s transport development plan until 2020, with a vision to 2030 according to the decision of the provincial People’s Committee; it was only added later.

The project was not originally included in the transport development plan

Specifically, in 2023, the Ministry of Construction’s Inspectorate issued an inspection conclusion regarding compliance with the law in the field of construction planning and implementation of approved plans; construction and real estate business activities in Bắc Giang province.

The inspection found that from March to April 2023, the inspection team conducted direct inspections at the Bắc Giang Provincial People’s Committee and related agencies, units, and organizations, focusing on the local government’s management of construction in the period from 2017 to 2022.

The inspection results determined that at the time of preparation, appraisal, and submission to the Bắc Giang Provincial People’s Council for a decision on investment policy, the Đồng Việt bridge project was not included in the Bắc Giang province’s transport development plan until 2020, with a vision to 2030 according to the decision of the provincial People’s Committee, which is a violation of the Law on Public Investment.

The project was later added to the Bắc Giang province’s development plan for the period 2021-2030 and the vision to 2050, which was approved by the Government in 2022. In addition, the calculation of reforestation costs in the total investment of the project also did not comply with legal regulations.

In addition, during the inspection, the Ministry of Construction’s Inspectorate discovered many violations in the signing of construction contracts. Specifically, the construction contract for Package 7 , Đồng Việt Bridge did not provide information on the business registration certificates of the parties involved in signing the contract, nor did it clearly identify the head of the consortium in accordance with legal regulations. In addition, the contract also did not unify the amount of collection for each payment according to regulations; there was no agreement on the number of payments, stages, timing, and conditions of payment.

During the process of acceptance and payment for completed work, the inspection agency proposed a reduction of over VND 271 million due to discovering errors in the calculation of the actual work volume. Specifically, there was a difference of 218m3 in the provision of a layer of 8% cement-reinforced sand to treat the weak soil at the beginning of the bridge, as well as 797m3 of granular material in the core of the abutment at the beginning of the bridge compared to the approved construction drawings.

Based on the violations discovered, the Ministry of Construction’s Inspectorate has proposed reviewing and drawing lessons for 2 collectives and 32 individuals belonging to the Bắc Giang Provincial Project Management Board for Investment in Construction of Transport and Agricultural Works.