Tokyu Construction Ltd. Co. has proposed the Ministry of Transport to compensate it VND200 billion (USD9.52 million) due to slow site clearance for the Nhat Tan Bridge project.
Nhat Tan Bridge is to be one of seven planned bridges spanning the Red River.
The information was given by Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong at a meeting between the Ministry of Transport and the Hanoi People’s Committee on speeding up the pace of key transport projects.
The deputy minister said that previously Vietnam compensated a Taiwanese company for a similar incident involving the slow site clearance of National Highway No. 5, running from Hanoi and Haiphong City.
The site clearance work of the project was overseen by the Ta Ngan Infrastructure Management Board, under the Hanoi People’s Committee. Tokyo Construction Ltd. Co. was the main contractor for bidding package No. 3, which was designed to build an access road to the north end of the bridge. The bidding package was started in March of 2009.
The slow site clearance from Ta Ngan Infrastructure Management Board, including a number of extensions, has made it necessary for the Japanese contractor to delay construction several times. Clearance in Phu Thuong, Tay Ho District has yet to be finished.
Nhat Tan Bridge is scheduled to be completed in October 2014, but to date, only around 60% of the work has been completed. The 8.4-km bridge will include eight lanes, including six for vehicles and the rest for pedestrians. The project has a total investment of VND7.53 trillion (USD358.7 million) mobilised from the Japanese ODA and reciprocal capital provided by the Vietnamese government.
Nhat Tan Bridge is to be one of seven planned bridges spanning the Red River.