Complete contractor selection in the first two quarters of the year
Updating the progress of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway project, the Ministry of Transport said that currently, the entire route has 15 main construction packages.
Construction of Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway (Photo: Vinh Phu)
Of which, 4 packages have been basically completed (packages A2-1; A3; A5 and J2).
5 contract termination packages (packages A1; A2-2; A4; A6 and J3) had to be re-bid, so the restart was slow.
The remaining packages are under construction. Total construction output to date is approximately 79% of the contract value.
Notably, contractor Cienco6, which is constructing package A7 and part of the volume of package A6-4, is under inspection by authorities, so its poor capital mobilization capacity and lack of improvement in recent times have affected resources and construction progress.
More specific information about the progress of the packages, according to the Ministry of Transport, package A1 has construction output reaching more than 81% of the contract value.
After unsuccessful negotiations, VEC announced the termination of the contract with the old contractor consortium (Halla - VNCN E&C) and completed the selection of a new contractor to construct the remaining volume of package A1 (package A1-1) with a construction period of 300 days, striving to basically complete the main items of the route in June 2024.
As of mid-February 2024, the contractor has started construction of the remaining main roadbed, completed pouring concrete for the final bridge deck of the Saigon - Trung Luong intersection and some other items. Output reached more than 12.5%, 14% slower.
Package A2-2 has construction output reaching nearly 68.5% of contract value.
The remaining main volume is about 100,000m3 of roadbed sand; about 140,000m3 of various types of soil; more than 65,000m3 of various types of crushed stone; about 346,000m2 of various types of asphalt concrete; the entire overpass on the left side of National Highway 50, and traffic safety items for bridges and roads.
VEC and the contractor signed an addendum to the contract to extend the completion time. However, the contractor repeatedly delayed and failed to fulfill its commitments. VEC terminated the contract with the contractor and is currently in the process of selecting a new contractor.
With package A4, the current construction output has reached more than 78%.
Similar to package A2-2, the contractor of package A4, the Kukdong - Dong Mekong joint venture, also did not cooperate to complete the package. Therefore, VEC has terminated the contract with the contractor and is carrying out the procedure to select a new contractor.
The remaining and additional volumes of packages A4 and A2-2 are combined into 1 package (XL-A2.2-4). The Ministry of Transport has approved the additional contractor selection plan.
It is expected that the bidding procedure will be completed to start construction in the first quarter of 2024.
Package J1 has construction output of more than 77% of contract value, 6.89% behind schedule.
The contractor's construction work is still behind schedule because the implementation of construction is not yet uniform across the entire site.
The new contractor has started construction of the main span of Binh Khanh Bridge. The construction work is not meeting the schedule of 18 days/1 casting segment of the main bridge.
For package J3, construction output has reached nearly 81% of contract value.
After VEC announced the termination of the contract with contractor J3, the plan to select a contractor to construct package J3-1 (to construct the remaining part of package J3) was approved by the Ministry of Transport.
It is expected that the bidding procedure will be completed to start construction in the second quarter of 2024, and completed in the third quarter of 2025.
As for package A6, after the contract is terminated, this package will be divided into 5 packages (A6-1; A6-2; A6-3; A6-4 and A6-5) to meet the deadline for the loan agreement with ADB.
After termination, VEC organized the selection of new contractors to construct the remaining and additional parts including packages A6-1, A6-2, A6-3, A6-4, A6-5.
Up to now, VEC has signed contracts and mobilized these packages to implement construction at the construction site from April 2023.
Of which, the construction output of package A6-1 reached nearly 30% of the contract value, 67% slower than planned.
Although the contractor has mobilized all construction teams at the site, due to the impact of the design adjustment of the intersection with the Ring Road 3 intersection (the affected length is about 2km) and the impact of the scarce sand material source, the construction progress of the package has not been achieved as planned.
Package A6-2 has construction output reaching more than 43% of contract value, 49% slower than planned.
Construction output of package A6-3 reached nearly 32% of the contract value, 56% slower than planned due to the impact of scarce sand material sources.
Package A6-4 has a construction output of nearly 13%, 58% behind schedule. Currently, the contractors in the consortium, CIENCO6, companies 674 and 620, have mobilized machinery and equipment to the construction site to carry out the work, making up for the slow output.
At package A6-5, construction output reached more than 71% of contract value, 4% slower than the adjusted plan.
Only package A7 has construction output reaching more than 82.6% of contract value, 1.21% faster than planned.
Jica Loan Agreement Extension
Emphasizing that contractors constructing the Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway are facing great difficulties in mobilizing materials to the construction site because provinces with mines only allow the use of materials for projects within their locality, the Ministry of Transport requested that localities provide more active support and provide materials for the project.
Regarding additional information on project funding, the Ministry of Transport said that the first ADB loan agreement (350 million USD) for the western section packages was closed on June 30, 2019.
The second ADB loan agreement (US$186 million) for the Eastern section packages closed on December 31, 2023.
According to the decision approving the adjustment of the investment policy approved by the Prime Minister and the Decision approving the project adjustment of the Ministry of Transport, VEC will be responsible for arranging capital to complete the remaining items of the bidding packages in the western and eastern sections of the Project.
"The second JICA loan agreement (over 31 billion JPY) for the JICA section packages is valid until July 17, 2024. Procedures are currently being carried out to extend it until December 31, 2025," said the Ministry of Transport.
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