Attending the connection point in Binh Thuan province of the Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet project were Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai and leaders of several ministries, branches and localities.

The North-South Eastern Expressway Project in the 2017-2020 period includes 11 component projects with a length of 654 km. With 2 projects inaugurated, Nha Trang - Cam Lam and Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet, 6 component projects with a length of 425 km have been completed and put into operation. Of which, the Nha Trang - Cam Lam project is 49 km long, starting construction in 2021, with a total investment of more than 5,500 billion VND under the public-private partnership (PPP) method.

The Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet Expressway project has a length of 101km, a total investment of more than VND 10,800 billion from the state budget, and started construction at the end of September 2020. The joint venture of contractors Vietnam Construction and Import-Export Joint Stock Corporation (VINACONEX) - VNCN E&C is the unit in charge of the construction of package XL04, section Km185+400 to Km235+000, Ma Lam intersection and Phan Thiet intersection with a construction contract value of VND 3,225 billion. On May 19, the Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet Expressway was put into operation after 31 months of efforts by contractor VINACONEX and construction units.

Representing the project contractors, Mr. Dao Ngoc Thanh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of VINACONEX, said that from the very first day of the project, the staff of VINACONEX and the contractors have always strived to implement the project to ensure meeting the set schedule, determining that the completion of the project is the honor, prestige and responsibility of the enterprise before the Party, the State and the people.

Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet Expressway completed after 31 months of construction. Photo: BAO LINH

The project has received attention and direction from leaders of the Party, State, National Assembly, Government, Prime Minister, Ministry of Transport as well as the participation of the entire political system, ministries, departments, branches and localities in removing difficulties in mechanisms, policies and capital sources to create conditions for contractors to complete assigned tasks.

In addition to the above favorable conditions, the implementation of the Project also encountered many difficulties due to the large construction volume in complex geological and terrain conditions, many hills and mountains, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, unfavorable weather conditions due to unusually heavy rain, sudden fluctuations in raw material prices, difficulties in site clearance and shortage of fill soil.

With the spirit of "overcoming the sun, overcoming the rain, determined to bring the project to the finish line on time", the construction plan was built in detail for each week, month, quarter, concentrating all resources to make the most of the weather conditions in favorable times to make up for the progress; applying the most advanced construction technologies and solutions, mobilizing thousands of types of the most modern machinery and equipment along with thousands of engineers and workers, working "3 shifts, 4 teams" regardless of day or night. The contractors have implemented many synchronous solutions, strived to overcome all difficulties, contributing to bringing the project to the finish line on schedule, ensuring quality, aesthetics and absolute labor safety.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Deputy Minister of Transport Le Dinh Tho said that the completion of the Nha Trang - Cam Lam and Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet projects increased the total length of the North-South expressway to 950km. Since the beginning of the term, 566km of expressway has been completed and put into operation, bringing the total length of expressway put into use in our country to 1,729km.

The two projects inaugurated today will contribute to connecting the provinces of Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, and Binh Thuan closer and faster with Ho Chi Minh City and key economic regions in the South; creating conditions to expand development space, expand economic activities, and regional connectivity, while reducing the load on National Highway 1, improving transport capacity and ensuring traffic safety.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh acknowledged and commended the officials, civil servants, and workers in the transport sector, especially investors, project management boards, contractors, and consulting units, for their determination, great efforts, and active innovation in thinking, thinking, and working methods to overcome difficulties related to the epidemic and unfavorable weather, working day and night, "working overtime", "overcoming the sun, overcoming the rain, overcoming the pandemic", mobilizing sufficient resources, equipment, and machinery, conducting research, and applying many technical solutions to put the projects into operation.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the inauguration ceremony. Photo: NHAT BAC

The Prime Minister commended the efforts and responsibility of local Party committees and authorities in site clearance and resolving material shortages; and thanked the people in the affected areas for their willingness to give up land and move their houses to implement the projects.

Some lessons learned by the Prime Minister are, first of all, that there must be a new way of doing things, thinking, methodology, approach, high determination, great efforts, drastic actions, focus, key points, scientific, reasonable, effective organization and implementation, and always listening to and understanding investors, contractors, and consultants. Promoting the responsibility of leaders, it is necessary to closely follow reality, proactively grasp the situation and improve forecasting to promptly adjust plans, implement solutions to promptly and thoroughly handle problems and problems arising during the implementation of projects at the construction site.

In addition, it is necessary to proactively resolve tasks within the authority; it is necessary to identify highways as common national assets that localities directly benefit from in order to mobilize the entire political system to participate responsibly and effectively; flexibly handle issues within the authority, especially site clearance, raw materials, logistics roads, waste disposal sites, etc.; in particular, handle the issue of construction materials. Do a good job of propaganda and mobilization so that people understand and agree with the major policies of the Party and State; pay attention to people's lives, focus on resettlement arrangements for people, ensure that new housing is better than or at least equal to the old housing, ensure infrastructure, health care, education, and services; thereby making people trust and willing to give up land and move their houses to serve the construction of projects.

Do not divide the bidding package into smaller packages; determine standards, criteria, and conditions for selecting contractors in accordance with reality; ensure publicity, transparency, seriousness, efficiency, and compliance with legal regulations to select contractors with real capacity, reputation, and experience in managing and implementing large-scale projects; ensure technical and aesthetic factors, save costs, and avoid unreasonable increases in total investment. Timely handle and resolve difficulties and obstacles in the spirit of "harmonizing benefits and sharing risks", minimizing administrative procedures, and not causing trouble for people and businesses; issues within authority must be resolved, avoiding shirking responsibility; resolutely fight against negativity, waste, and corruption.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the completion of the two expressways Nha Trang - Cam Lam and Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet plays a great role and significance in the socio-economic development of Khanh Hoa and Binh Thuan provinces in particular, of the South Central Coast region and of the country in general.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and delegates cut the ribbon to inaugurate the project. Photo: NHAT BAC

To maximize the effectiveness of investment in projects, the Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Transport to preside over and coordinate with ministries, branches and localities to organize safe operation and exploitation; based on traffic demand to develop a complete investment plan for the project according to the future planning scale; research, analyze and evaluate experiences in project implementation to serve as lessons for future projects; speed up construction progress to put the remaining sections of the North-South expressway into operation on schedule, improve quality and avoid unreasonable capital increase; closely coordinate and support localities to urgently implement the construction of East-West expressway projects, urban belt projects in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, and inter-regional connection projects in the form of PPP.

The People's Committees of Khanh Hoa and Binh Thuan provinces directed relevant agencies and units to continue to care for the material and spiritual lives of the people, especially families and people who give up land and land for the project, ensuring that people have better living conditions; take full advantage of the expressway to plan and develop new spaces to promote local socio-economic development. Ministries, localities, agencies and people must ensure traffic safety and construction safety when operating.

MANH HUNG