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 spanning 18.2km overseen by the Ministry of Transport. To facilitate this project, Dong Nai authorities need to acquire over 290 hectares of land, impacting approximately 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 portion by December 31, 2023. However, these deadlines were repeatedly pushed back to June 30, then September 15, and most recently to October 15, 2024.
The most significant challenge faced by Dong Nai province is land clearance, complicated by legal issues, compensation negotiations, and the difficulty of arranging resettlement for affected residents. In Bien Hoa City, where the expressway will cover a distance of just over 6km, only 45% of the required land has been handed over. Meanwhile, the People’s Committee of Long Thanh District has relinquished nearly 63% of the land for the first sub-project.
On September 24, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, along with 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.
In a report to the Prime Minister, Dong Nai authorities affirmed their commitment to delivering the land for the second sub-project.
“Dong Nai Province pledges to essentially complete the land clearance for the expressway section passing through the province by October 15. Regarding quarries, the local authorities have made recommendations and requested further guidance on procedures from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment,” a representative of the provincial leadership stated.
“Currently, the rain has stopped in Dong Nai, and the provincial leaders will meet with the contractors to encourage and accelerate the project’s progress,” they added.
Affected Residents Await Resettlement Land Allocation
On October 15, reporters from VTC News 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 entire province due to the large number of households that need to be relocated, many absentee landowners, and a significant number of illegal constructions on agricultural land.
A representative of the management unit for the second sub-project of the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway acknowledged that construction units are facing challenges due to the lack of land for roadbed filling.
Residents impacted by the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway project expressed their willingness to yield their land for the project but shared their concerns about the lack of allocated resettlement land, making their relocation challenging.
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 People’s Committee has 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. However, 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 components, including roadbed filling, superstructure casting, super-T girder casting, drainage systems, culverts, and cross bridges. For the first sub-project, the progress of package 18 has reached over 3%, while package 21 is close to 10%. Meanwhile, 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 essentially met the construction requirements. Nevertheless, the construction units are facing challenges due to the lack of land for roadbed filling.
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 component, managed by the People’s Committee of Dong Nai province, spans 16km; the second component, overseen by the Ministry of Transport, covers 18.2km; and the third component, 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 (covering 33.9 hectares) and the Long Duc resettlement area (spanning 30 hectares), both located in Long Thanh district.
Construction in the Long Duc resettlement area has reached over 95% completion, and authorities have demarcated, divided into plots, and conducted a lottery for land allocation for the affected households. Meanwhile, construction in the Long Phuoc resettlement area has achieved over 45% progress, and it is expected to provide approximately 1,048 plots of land for resettlement once completed.
