The construction paces of all 12 key transport projects currently underway in Hanoi remain sluggish due to problems with site clearance.
Nhat Tan Bridge
The list includes Nhat Tan Bridge, Nhat Tan-Noi Bai Road, Noi Bai-Lao Cai Highway, Lang-Hoa Lac Highway, Noi Bai International Airport’s T2 Terminal, Ngoc Hoi-Yen Vien urban railway project and Cat Linh-Ha Dong Urban Railway.
Tran Xuan Sanh, Head of the Ministry of Transport’s Transport Engineering Construction and Quality Management Bureau, said, most of the projects have seen slow site clearance, making them at risk of being finished behind schedule.
He added that the ODA-funded projects, namely Nhat Tan Bridge and Nhat Tan-Noi Bai Road, Hanoi-Thai Nguyen Highway, Hanoi-Haiphong Highway and Cat Linh-Ha Dong Urban Railway are especially behind time.
The invested capital of Nhat Tan Brige has been updated to VND13.62 trillion (USD619 million) from VND7.52 trillion (USD358 million), partially attributed to site clearance problems. The project is slated for completion by October 2014.
Early this year, the Japanese contractor, Tokyu Construction Ltd. Co. proposed that the Ministry of Transport compensate them to the tune of VND200 billion (USD9.52 million) due to slow site clearance for the Nhat Tan Bridge project. The Minitstry of Transport replied that they will deal with the problem.
The estimated price tag for the Nhat Tan-Noi Bai Road project has risen to VND6.74 trillion (USD320.9 million) from VND5 trillion (USD238 million). Hanoi authorities planned to finish site clearance by June, 2014. But, due to problems with site clearance, the date has been moved back to December.
The Ministry of Transport has informed the prime minister of the sluggish site clearance leading to Hanoi’s major transport projects, according to Sanh.
The sluggish site clearance has particularly affected ODA-funded projects in terms of disbursements of funds.
