500kV Lao Cai-Vinh Yen Transmission Line Last article: Racing against time, ensuring project progress milestones

Contractors mobilized workers to work night shifts, striving to complete column foundation positions in May - Photo: VGP/Toan Thang

Racing against time every day, speeding up project progress

At the construction site of the 500 kV Lao Cai - Vinh Yen transmission line project, these days, not only do they work during the day, many contractors also work overtime at night to take advantage of favorable weather conditions, complete the excavation and casting of foundations at locations early next May, and prepare for pole erection and wire pulling from June 2025. The progress is being calculated daily for the contractors.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Thanh, Deputy Director of the Lao Cai - Vinh Yen 500kV transmission line project management board, said: The Lao Cai - Vinh Yen 500kV transmission line project has 11 bid packages, including 10 mixed bid packages for transmission line construction and one bid package for expanding the Vinh Yen 500kV transformer station.

Location 51 of mixed package No. 1 is located in Bao Yen district, Lao Cai, implemented by the joint venture of PC1 Group Joint Stock Company, Song Da Construction and Services Joint Stock Company and Dong Anh Steel Column Manufacturing Company Limited. In which, Song Da Construction and Services Joint Stock Company and PC1 Group Joint Stock Company will perform the construction and installation, and Dong Anh Steel Column Contractor will manufacture and supply columns for the entire package.

"After signing the contract for this location, from March 10, the contractors were very active and urgent in negotiating with the people about temporary roads, compensation plans for crops and trees. The contractor officially started approaching this location on March 20," said Mr. Thanh.

According to Mr. Vu Dinh Binh, a technical officer in charge of construction of PC1 Group Joint Stock Company, the contractor is implementing three packages No. 1, No. 6 and No. 9 of the 500 kV Lao Cai - Vinh Yen transmission line project.

According to the commitment with the investor, the foundation excavation will be completed on May 30. From June 1 to July 30, the contractor will complete the column erection and deploy the wire pulling from July to August 30 and complete the project.

To ensure these progress milestones, PC1 always closely follows the daily and hourly progress of each foundation location and regularly reports to the investor to promptly resolve problems during the construction process.

Up to this point, the contractor is meeting the committed schedule. If the weather is favorable, the foundation will be completed by May 30.

Meanwhile, package 2 has 47 foundation positions, from position 52 to position 99. This package started construction on April 1, more than a month later than other packages on the entire line.

At location 69 in Tan Duong commune, Bao Yen district, Lao Cai province, Mr. Nguyen The Hien, Commander of package 2 of contractor Power Construction One Member Co., Ltd. 4 said that the contractor has the advantage of local authorities and the Investor handing over the site in full to start construction from April 3.

By mid-April, the unit had simultaneously deployed 23 construction teams at 23/47 foundation locations. Due to the later start of construction than other packages, in order to catch up with the overall progress of the project, the contractor had its own construction solutions, including adding more manpower, working overtime, and increasing hours.

"Normally, the unit arranges a team for 2-3 foundation positions. However, due to the required progress, the unit arranges each team to take on 1 difficult position and 2 easy positions. Currently, overtime is being implemented until 10 pm for construction positions," said the Commander of Package No. 2 of the contractor, Electrical Construction One Member Co., Ltd. 4.

Taking advantage of favorable weather, foundation construction is being carried out very urgently - Photo: VGP/Toan Thang

Location 167 of Package No. 4 in Yen Bai province is undertaken by contractor Song Da 11 Joint Stock Company. This is one of the foundation locations with the largest volume of concrete construction on the entire route, with about 2,000 m3 of concrete.

Because it is located on a rice field, near a stream, and the ground is weak, this location is designed as a slab foundation. Present at this contract package when it was 7pm, we still saw a series of machines and about 30 workers still working hard through the night to install steel reinforcement.

Along with that, the contractor also arranged 38 teams to deploy other positions in package 4 to ensure the overall progress of the project.

"Thanks to our strict adherence to construction discipline and dedication to meeting the schedule, we were among the first to complete the column foundation work.

It is expected that by next May, Song Da 11 will complete all foundation pits at all locations in the bid package," affirmed Mr. Nguyen Trung Kien, Deputy Director of the Executive Board of Song Da 11 Joint Stock Company.

Steel column supply progress: "Resolutely not leaving the foundation waiting for the column"

Learning from the lessons of the 500 kV line 3 project, the work of providing steel poles and materials and accessories for foundation positions is given special attention with the motto "resolutely not leaving the foundation waiting for the poles".

Accordingly, for locations on mountains, difficult terrain, taking advantage of favorable weather, the steel column supplier will transport and assemble all column bars, column details, wires, porcelain, accessories to each foundation location. When the foundation is completed, the materials are complete, the column erection will be carried out immediately.

Dong Anh Steel Pole Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is focusing all its human resources to ensure the progress of supplying steel poles to contractors for the construction of the 500kV Lao Cai - Vinh Yen transmission line project - Photo: VGP/Toan Thang

According to Mr. Nguyen Trung Kien, Deputy Director of Song Da 11 Joint Stock Company, the supply of poles is an important critical path that will determine the progress of the entire project.

Regarding the bidding package of this unit, Mr. Kien said that the unit currently has 2 enterprises supplying columns, which are domestic shaped steel columns of Ngai Cau Investment, Construction and Trade Joint Stock Company (Ngai Cau) and Electrical Construction Company 4 joint venture and imported steel pipe columns from China.

For imported steel columns, the contractor has completed the procedures to make an advance payment to the supplier so that the supplier can be completely assured in the production and fabrication of columns and meet the delivery schedule to the construction site for the unit.

Along with that, the contractor regularly inspected, urged and supervised the column production unit, arranged professional staff to be on duty at the factory warehouses to conduct weekly and monthly inspections. Thereby, ensuring the maximum quantity of goods ordered by the unit and resolutely not leaving the foundation waiting for the column.

Mr. Kien added that traditional steel columns have arrived at the construction site since April 15 and imported pipe columns will arrive at the construction site from May 1.

"At that time, the contractor will immediately transport all the poles to the foundation positions; at the same time, focus on completing the erection of the wire-pulling poles before August 31 to serve the energization of the entire line in accordance with the direction of the Prime Minister ," affirmed a representative of Song Da 11 Joint Stock Company.

Present at Dong Anh Steel Pole Manufacturing Co., Ltd. to learn about the steel pole supply situation of this enterprise for the 500kV Lao Cai - Vinh Yen transmission line project, we witnessed the bustling production atmosphere at the factories. Along with that is the high determination from the highest leader of the enterprise to each worker in focusing on production to complete the pole supply schedule for the project on time.

Mr. Nguyen Minh De, General Director of Dong Anh Steel Pole Manufacturing Company Limited, said that the Company is supplying poles for 4/10 packages of the 500 kV Lao Cai - Vinh Yen transmission line project with 65 shaped steel poles and 99 steel pipe poles, with a total volume of more than 20,000 tons.

Up to this point, the Company has completed the delivery of 4 steel columns and is continuing to transport the next shipments to the construction site for the construction unit to install the first positions of the project. For steel pipe columns, from April 15, the unit has delivered the first column.

"Realizing that this is a national key project and very urgent, with progress being required every day, Dong Anh Steel Pole Manufacturing Company Limited has prepared very carefully. Workers are currently focusing on production according to the progress requirements of the Prime Minister and leaders of the electricity industry. We work through holidays and Tet, ensuring the supply of poles according to the contract to meet the project's progress," Mr. De emphasized.

Currently, the 2 factories of Dong Anh Steel Column Manufacturing Company Limited have nearly 600 officers and employees participating in production in 3 shifts, 4 shifts, working during holidays, without days off to ensure the supply progress.

This enterprise also hopes that during the April 30 - May 1 holiday, ports and border gates will still operate smoothly so that materials for pole production can be imported on schedule, "because if there is a bottleneck in importing goods, it will affect the project's progress."

Regarding the supply progress, for steel columns, the General Director of Dong Anh Steel Column Manufacturing Company Limited said that because the unit proactively supplies materials, it is expected to be completed on May 15-20.

With steel pipe poles, it will be more difficult, it may take around July 15-20 to complete, after that, the construction unit will install and complete the closed line progress before August 31 to energize the project.

Ngai Cau Investment, Construction and Trading Joint Stock Company participated in two bidding packages to supply poles for the Lao Cai - Vinh Yen 500kV transmission line project. Of which, package 10 is a direct joint venture and package 4 is an indirect one with 60 positions. The total volume of this enterprise participating is more than 8,000 tons.

With package 4, angle steel columns are the Company's strength, therefore, this April, the Company ensures to supply all columns of package 4. It is expected that on April 20-30, the enterprise will supply all 25 angle steel column positions. The remaining steel pipe columns will be supplied by the unit from the beginning of May to June.

Steel column production at Ngai Cau Construction Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company - Photo: VGP/Toan Thang

According to the Deputy General Director of the Company Nguyen Quang Tao, with experience in supplying poles from the 500 kV line 3 Quang Trach - Pho Noi, at this project, the production time is very urgent so we almost have no concept of days off. The workers still work 3 shifts, 4 shifts to timely supply steel poles to the construction units.

"From May to June, the weather in the Northwest region will begin the rainy season, so both the construction unit and the pole manufacturing unit will have to meet the fastest schedule to be able to erect the poles and pull the wires, avoiding the rainy and windy period."

Being present at the construction site of the 500kV Lao Cai – Vinh Yen transmission line project in these historic April days, more than anyone else, we can feel the fast-paced working atmosphere of the construction units from digging and casting foundations to supplying steel columns and accessories. All are determined to reach the common goal, bringing the project "to the finish line on time" according to the direction of the Prime Minister.

Toan Thang

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/duong-day-500kv-lao-cai-vinh-yenbai-cuoi-chay-dua-voi-thoi-gian-bao-dam-moc-tien-do-du-an-102250422161733103.htm