Prime Minister requests clarification of information 'building highways causes damage to residential roads'

Provincial Vice Chairman feels "very sad"

During a working session with key leaders of Thanh Hoa province on the afternoon of November 11, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested Thanh Hoa to directly report whether or not the construction of the North-South Expressway, the nearly 50 km Mai Son - National Highway 45 section, damaged nearly 100 km of residential roads, and affected nearly 1,000 households, as stated by a National Assembly delegate of Thanh Hoa province in the question-and-answer session held on November 7.

Mr. Mai Xuan Liem, Vice Chairman of Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee, felt "very sad" when hearing the National Assembly delegate of Thanh Hoa delegation say that building 1 km of highway causes damage to 2-3 km of residential roads.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked the leaders of Thanh Hoa province, "Is it true that after building a few dozen kilometers of highway, nearly 100 kilometers of residential roads were destroyed? Is it true that nearly 1,000 households were affected? If it is true, Mr. Thang (Mr. Nguyen Van Thang, Minister of Transport ) must take responsibility. If it is not true, Thanh Hoa needs to send a document to the competent authorities to clarify the responsibility of the delegates."

Responding to the Prime Minister on the above issue, Mr. Mai Xuan Liem, Vice Chairman of Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee, said he was "very sad" after a National Assembly delegate reported that building 1 km of highway would damage 2-3 km of residential roads.

"When I heard the information from the National Assembly representative about the impact of the expressway, I was personally very sad about that opinion. When building the residential roads, people's opinions were sought. When building, there must be an impact, but no people objected to the way it was done. As for the opinion that 100 km of residential roads were damaged, it depends on each route's traffic volume and the time of traffic. Damaged roads were repaired immediately during construction, and the group of residential roads at the village, commune, and district levels have been repaired completely. As for the provincial roads, out of the 31 provincial roads affected, 19 have been repaired, the rest are being surveyed and are being repaired," said Mr. Liem.

According to Mr. Liem, in the near future, the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province will send a report to relevant agencies to report on the information reflected by National Assembly deputies on the current situation of the impact when constructing the North-South expressway.

Regarding the situation of households affected by the construction of the North-South Expressway, Mr. Liem said that the construction process has affected many households.

Mai Son - National Highway 45 is nearly 50 km long, connecting Ninh Binh province to Thanh Hoa.

"There is no such thing as doing something without causing any impact. Thousands of households have been affected but have been relocated to other locations. The resettlement sites have all been consulted by the people. The spirit of Thanh Hoa province is to limit the movement of people out of villages and communes. Up to this point, no one has complained. What is best for the people has been done," said Mr. Liem.

Clarifying the statement about the current situation of impacts caused by highway construction

After listening to the Thanh Hoa provincial leaders report on the current situation of the impact when constructing the North-South expressway project, the Prime Minister noted: "I have visited the resettlement area for the expressway in Dong Son district of Thanh Hoa province, that area is very beautiful. Is it true that in Thanh Hoa province, only that area is beautiful, and all the other areas are in ruins? Mr. Nguyen (Mr. Lai The Nguyen, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Thanh Hoa province), you must be responsible, Mr. Liem, Vice Chairman of the province, he feels sad, do you feel sad? The responsibility for resettlement is the responsibility of the province, you complain in the National Assembly, it is still the responsibility of the province. Of course, there is also the responsibility of the Government. This must be clear, when reporting and speaking, you must be very responsible".

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his delegation worked with leaders of Thanh Hoa province.

"If the situation is as stated by the National Assembly delegate, then the Government is responsible for whatever part belongs to the Government, and the ministries and branches are responsible for whatever is the responsibility of the ministries and branches. But it must be correct. I propose to clarify this, and have an official report to the National Assembly Standing Committee, the Government, and the National Assembly Delegation of Thanh Hoa," Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized.

Earlier, on the morning of November 7, during the questioning session of Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang, Standing Member of the National Defense and Security Committee Vu Xuan Hung (Thanh Hoa delegation) said that the North-South Expressway component projects put into operation have created conditions for socio-economic development, shortening travel time between localities. However, "the consequences left behind are not small".

Specifically, during the construction process, many residential roads and some dikes were destroyed and collapsed. Houses of residents in the project area were cracked. Intra-field drainage canals were blocked and damaged. Intra-field traffic was cut off...

"People going to work in the fields in some places have to cross the highway because there are no underpasses or they are very far away, which can easily cause traffic safety problems. Not to mention, the construction also causes environmental pollution due to dust," Mr. Hung said.

Delegate Hung said that on average, for every 1 km of highway built, 2-3 km of residential roads are damaged, hundreds of houses in the project area are cracked, and dozens of hectares of production land are affected.

"For example, the North-South Expressway component project, the Mai Son - National Highway 45 section through Thanh Hoa, is 49.2 km long. But after 3 years of construction, 92.7 km of residential roads have been damaged, greatly affecting the people. Local authorities have reported to the management boards of the Ministry of Transport and contractors, but they have not been able to handle it," said Mr. Hung.

Mr. Hung said that the reason is that the total investment of the project does not include funds for repair, refund and compensation for the people, causing frustration among the people. Therefore, delegate Hung hopes that the Minister of Transport will pay attention and direct the relevant agencies to share the difficulties of the people. "Not for the purpose of building a highway, not because of lack of funds, we make things difficult for the people," Mr. Hung emphasized.

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