Continuous Delays and Missed Deadlines for Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway
The Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway, with a length of 34.2km in the Dong Nai province, consists of two sub-projects: one measuring 16km under the management of the Dong Nai People’s Committee, and the other 18.2km stretch overseen by the Ministry of Transport. To facilitate this project, Dong Nai authorities need to acquire over 290 hectares of land, impacting 3,500 households.
In the Vuon Dua neighborhood of Phuoc Tan Ward, Bien Hoa City, most houses affected by the project remain intact and untouched.
Initially, Dong Nai planned to hand over 70% of the required land by June 30, 2023, and the remaining 30% by December 31, 2023. These deadlines were later extended to June 30 and September 15, and most recently, they requested another postponement to October 15, 2024.
The province’s biggest challenge is land clearance, legal issues, compensation agreement complications, and resettlement difficulties. Land clearance in Bien Hoa City, where the expressway will span over 6km, has only reached 45%. Meanwhile, Long Thanh District has handed over nearly 63% of the required land for the first sub-project.
On September 24, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and a Government delegation inspected the construction progress of the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway project.
During this visit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested that Dong Nai Province complete land clearance for the second sub-project by October 15.
Rare glimpse of houses along Dinh Quang An Street that have been or are in the process of being demolished to make way for the expressway project.
The provincial leaders assured the Prime Minister that they would deliver the land for the second sub-project.
“Dong Nai Province commits to completing the land clearance for the expressway section by October 15. Regarding the quarry issue, we have made recommendations and hope for further guidance and support from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment regarding the necessary procedures,” the provincial leader stated.
“Currently, the rain has stopped in Dong Nai, and the provincial leadership will meet with the contractors to encourage and accelerate the project’s progress,” they added.
Affected Residents Await Resettlement Land Allocation
On October 15, VTC News reporters visited the Vuon Dua area in Phuoc Tan Ward, Bien Hoa City, to observe the progress of land handover by residents.
According to statistics from the People’s Committee of Bien Hoa City, Vuon Dua is the slowest area in terms of land clearance in the province due to the large number of households that need to be relocated, many absentee landowners, and illegal construction on agricultural land.
Representatives from the management unit of the second sub-project of the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway acknowledged that construction units are facing challenges due to a lack of soil for embankment construction.
Residents impacted by the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway project expressed their willingness to give up their land for the project but shared their concerns about the challenges of relocating to new accommodations due to the lack of allocated resettlement land.
Ms. Nguyen Thi An, a resident of Bien Hoa City, shared her experience: “My family received the land handover decision a long time ago. The ward authorities have also measured the land and proposed compensation, but we have not been allocated resettlement land, so we don’t know where to move.
The majority of residents here agree to give up their land for the national project, but we still have concerns about the unreasonable compensation rates,” she added.
Previously, the leaders of Dong Nai Province committed to the Prime Minister that they would hand over the land for the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway project by October 15.
According to the reporters’ observations, the expressway project in Dong Nai has commenced construction on several items, including road embankment, superstructure casting, super-T beam casting, drainage system, culverts, and cross bridges. For the first sub-project, the progress of package 18 has reached over 3%, while package 21 is at nearly 10%. The second sub-project has achieved approximately 13% progress.
According to the management unit of the second sub-project, the land clearance for this section has basically met the construction requirements. However, the construction units are facing challenges due to a lack of soil for embankment construction.
The Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway, with a total length of nearly 54km, traverses over 34km in Dong Nai Province and nearly 20km in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. The project, with a total investment of more than VND 17,800 billion, commenced in June 2023.
The project is divided into three components: the first, managed by the People’s Committee of Dong Nai Province, spans 16km; the second, overseen by the Ministry of Transport, covers 18.2km; and the third, under the management of the People’s Committee of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, extends for 19.5km.
On October 27, 2023, the People’s Committee of Dong Nai Province arranged resettlement areas for households affected by the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway project, including the Long Phuoc resettlement area (33.9 hectares) and the Long Duc resettlement area (30 hectares), both located in Long Thanh District.
The construction progress in the Long Duc resettlement area has reached over 95% of the total project volume. The authorities have completed the land demarcation and lot allocation, and a lottery for land positions has been conducted for the households to be resettled in this area.
In the Long Phuoc resettlement area, the construction progress has surpassed 45% of the total project volume. Once completed, this area is expected to provide approximately 1,048 resettlement land lots.
