**Alternate Solutions to Remove Obstacles Proposed**
The Hanoi Construction Investment Project Management Board (CIPMB) has proposed to the Hanoi People’s Committee (HPC) a solution for implementing the Ring Road 2.5 Project’s section from Dam Hong to National Highway 1A through a build-transfer (BT) model to ensure efficient exploitation after the project’s investment. The investment project for building an underpass intersection at the junction of Ring Road 2.5 and Giai Phong Street in Hoang Mai district has been completed.
Accordingly, the CIPMB has requested the HPC to assign the Department of Planning and Investment to take the lead in cooperating with relevant agencies to work with the BT project investor. The aim is to request that the project be implemented in a manner that ensures timely synchronization and connection with the Ring Road 2.5 underpass project.
The underpass at the interchange of Ring Road 2.5 and Giai Phong – Kim Dong Street has taken shape. Photo: Trong Đảng.
If the investor does not meet the necessary conditions and legal procedures, resulting in the inability to carry out the BT project, the CIPMB recommends that the HPC carry out two alternative solutions.
Option 1 will allow for the transfer of the unimplemented section of the BT project to the Ring Road 2.5 underpass project (this section is approximately 350 meters long from pile H6 of the BT project towards Dam Hong).
The investment project for building an underpass at the intersection of Ring Road 2.5 and Giai Phong Street (National Highway 1A old road), Hoang Mai district (Ring Road 2.5 underpass project) was launched on October 6, 2022, and is expected to be completed and put into operation in 2025. According to the approved design, upon completion, the Ring Road 2.5 underpass project will create an elevated intersection on Giai Phong Street, connecting Kim Dong Street with Ring Road 2.5 from the old National Highway 1A to Dam Hong.
If this option is chosen, the greatest advantage is that the site acquisition and clearance work has been completed, and investing in the construction of this section to connect the Ring Road 2.5 underpass will ensure timely commissioning, synchronization with the road, reduce traffic congestion, improve traffic safety, and enhance environmental sanitation.
However, on the section where the L3 bridge crosses the Lu River, the investor has constructed two piers and installed a central girder span for a long time without constructing the abutments and two edge spans. Currently, this construction is in a state of disrepair, and it is necessary to determine the construction stoppage point and conduct an inspection and assessment of the quality of the constructed girders and bridge piers to determine an appropriate course of action.
Option 2 involves transferring the section from pile H6 to the left bank of the Lu River in the BT project (a section approximately 200 meters long).
With this option, the site acquisition and clearance work has been completed, and the investor has not yet begun construction on this section. Therefore, determining the stopping point of the BT project is not complex, and the small amount of work required will not significantly impact the progress of the Ring Road 2.5 underpass project.
The difficulty in failing to complete the Ring Road 2.5 section from the old National Highway 1A to Dam Hong as planned would only address the immediate situation without providing a comprehensive solution to traffic connectivity in the area, potentially creating a black spot for traffic congestion in the Dinh Cong bridge area and the roads on both banks of the river in the vicinity.
**Counterpart Project Land Sold under Investigation**
The Ring Road 2.5 project was granted an investment certificate by the Hanoi People’s Committee in 2013 to be implemented through a BT model with the investor designated. In 2014, the Hanoi Department of Transport, acting on behalf of the city, signed a BT contract with a consortium of investors: Hanoi Urban and Housing Development Business Corporation and Hoang Ha Construction Company Limited.
Accordingly, this section of the ring road is approximately 2 kilometers long and is designed with a width of 40 meters and a sidewalk width of 7.5 meters. The total investment value is approximately 1,300 billion VND. The BT project implementation period was from 2013 to 2016.
The Ring Road 2.5 project (Dam Hong – National Highway 1A section) under a BT contract has been unfinished for 10 years and cannot be opened to traffic, while the counterpart project, the Dai Kim – Dinh Cong New Urban Area Expansion, has already divided the land into plots and sold it, raising funds from customers for a long time, despite not yet receiving land allocation. Photo: Dinh Phong.
It is noteworthy that the Ring Road 2.5 project remains unfinished after more than 10 years and has no scheduled completion date. However, the counterpart project, the Dai Kim – Dinh Cong New Urban Area project, has already divided the land into plots and sold it, raising funds from customers through an “Investment Cooperation Contract” format, even though the land has not been fully acquired, and the land has not yet been allocated. This has caused investor frustration.
The Hanoi People’s Committee Office recently issued a document to the City Inspectorate urgently requesting that it implement the city’s leadership’s directive to consider inspecting the counterpart investment project (the investment project for building the Dai Kim – Dinh Cong New Urban Area Expansion) for the investment project for building Ring Road 2.5.
Previously, in August 2023, after hearing reports from relevant agencies about the investment project for building Ring Road 2.5, Hanoi Vice Chairman Duong Duc Tuan concluded that the project’s investment progress was slow and that there were many complex petitions related to the project’s implementation that needed to be carefully considered and resolved.
Therefore, the Vice Chairman assigned the Hanoi City Inspectorate to handle petitions, complaints, and denunciations related to the investor and the counterpart project, the Dai Kim – Dinh Cong New Urban Area Expansion investment project. The Inspectorate is also to coordinate with the Department of Planning and Investment and relevant units to inspect and review the entire process and investment procedures for the Ring Road 2.5 construction investment project (Dam Hong – National Highway 1A section) and the related counterpart investment project.
