On April 16th, Mr. Nguyen Van Thang – Minister of the Ministry of Transport (MOT) – and the working delegation inspected the construction site of the North-South Expressway section Dien Chau – Bai Vot.
Reporting on the construction progress, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Viet – General Director of Phuc Thanh Hung Investment Joint Stock Company – said that up to now, the contractors have constructed the project with a value of over 7,000 billion VND, reaching 81.7% of the contract. In particular, the section from Dien Chau to the QL46B junction is 92% complete. The remaining work includes 1.5km of cement-stabilized crushed stone pavement, nearly 10km of 3-layer asphalt concrete. It is expected that the asphalt layer will be completed on April 25th and the guardrail and traffic safety system will be completed on April 27th.
Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang inspects the construction site of Dien Chau – Bai Vot Expressway.
The Than Vu tunnel has more than 200m of roadbed concrete left, and is expected to be completed on April 24th. The investor is also carrying out procedures for the acceptance of fire prevention and fighting in the tunnel area, developing a road maintenance plan, and a traffic organization plan.
As for the section from QL46B to Bai Vot (Ha Tinh), Mr. Viet affirmed that it will be completed according to the contract period. However, there are 7 points with a total length of 2km with complex geology and weak ground, which require more time for earth filling for load testing.
“The MOT needs to soon issue a document requesting the Ministry of Finance to complete the procedures and provide guidance on declaring value-added tax refunds in accordance with the Prime Minister’s Directive No. 57/TTg-CD dated February 19th, 2023. The delay in tax refunds may lead to delays in progress due to suspension of disbursement by banks,” Mr. Viet suggested.
Minister Nguyen Van Thang directs contractors to speed up the progress and open traffic on April 30th.
Inspecting the QL46B junction, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang directed: “Everyone must promote the spirit of “only doing, not retreating,” and propose solutions to put the Dien Chau – Bai Vot expressway project into operation to serve the people right on the occasion of April 30th – May 1st.”
Emphasizing the need for contractors to support and assist each other in critical stages, Minister Nguyen Van Thang stated: “In this expressway project, we must promote the spirit of mutual assistance and overcome difficulties together. Even for some specific items, we can ask the local authorities or the Ministry to mobilize capable units to help.
Construction units are deploying road surface paving to ensure timely traffic opening on the route.
After inspecting along the route, Minister Nguyen Van Thang requested the project company to hold a meeting with contractors and PMU 6 to determine a detailed plan, method, and principles of support; to quickly complete legal procedures for relevant agencies to inspect, and assess the completion in accordance with the regulations of the law before opening the traffic.
“Investors and contractors have made great efforts, and now they must make even greater efforts. Focus on machinery, resources, and personnel to work 3 shifts with 4 shifts, and implement all items simultaneously. If necessary, hire additional capable contractors to ensure the set goal,” said Minister Nguyen Van Thang.
Minister Nguyen Van Thang requires investors and contractors to make more efforts and support each other to ensure the set goal.
The North-South Expressway project, Dien Chau – Bai Vot section, is over 49km long. The project is implemented under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, with a total investment of nearly 11,160 billion VND. The project commenced on May 22, 2021.
