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 16km section managed by the Dong Nai People’s Committee and an 18.2km section under the Ministry of Transport. The expressway starts from Bien Hoa city and ends in Long Thanh district. To facilitate this project, the authorities in Dong Nai need to acquire over 290 hectares of land, affecting 3,500 households.
In Vuon Dua neighborhood (Phuoc Tan ward, Bien Hoa city), most houses affected by the project remain intact and undemolished.
Initially, Dong Nai planned to hand over 70% of the land by June 30, 2023, and the remaining by December 31, 2023. These deadlines were later extended to June 30, then September 15, and most recently, a further extension was requested until October 15, 2024.
The province’s most significant challenge is land compensation and resettlement issues, along with legal obstacles and agreement on compensation packages. Bien Hoa city, through which the expressway passes for over 6km, has only handed over 45% of the required land so far. Meanwhile, Long Thanh district has handed over just under 63% for the first sub-project.
On September 24, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and a Government delegation inspected the progress of the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway project.
During the inspection, 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 being demolished to make way for the expressway project.
The provincial leaders reported to 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 by October 15. Regarding quarries, we have made recommendations and hope for further guidance and support from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment regarding procedures,” said the provincial leader. “The rain has stopped in Dong Nai, and we will meet with the contractors to encourage and accelerate project progress,” they added.
Affected Residents Await Resettlement Land Allocation
On October 15, VTC News reporters visited Vuon Dua 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 to be relocated, many vacant lots, and illegal construction on agricultural land.
The management unit of the second sub-project of the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway shared that construction units still face challenges due to a lack of land for roadbed filling.
Residents affected by the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway project expressed their willingness to give up their land for the project but faced challenges in relocating to new accommodations due to the lack of allocated resettlement land.
“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,” said Nguyen Thi An, a resident of Bien Hoa city. “Most people here agree to give up their land for the national project, but we still have concerns about the unreasonable compensation prices,” she added.
Previously, the leaders of Dong Nai province committed to the Prime Minister that by October 15, they would hand over the land for the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway project.
According to the reporters’ observations, the expressway project through Dong Nai province has commenced construction on several items, including roadbed filling, superstructure casting, super-T beam casting, drainage system, culverts, and cross-bridges. For the first sub-project, package 18 has achieved over 3% progress, package 21 nearly 10%, and the second sub-project has reached over 13%.
According to the management unit of the second sub-project, while the land clearance for this section has basically met the construction requirements, the construction units still face challenges due to the lack of land for roadbed filling.
The Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway is nearly 54km long, with over 34km in Dong Nai province and nearly 20km in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. The project, with a total investment of over 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, is 16km long; the second, under the Ministry of Transport, is 18.2km long; and the third, overseen by the People’s Committee of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, spans 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 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 also completed the staking, lot division, and lottery draw for land positions for households eligible for resettlement in this area.
Meanwhile, the construction progress in the Long Phuoc resettlement area has surpassed 45% of the total project volume. Once completed, this area is expected to provide approximately 1,048 lots for resettlement.
