Many problems hinder construction progress
On March 21, continuing his working trip to the Central region, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Duy Lam had a working session with contractors and project consultants of two North-South expressway component projects through Ha Tinh.
Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Duy Lam worked with construction units of the two projects Bai Vot - Ham Nghi and Ham Nghi - Vung Ang.
At the meeting, Mr. Do Thanh Chung, Deputy Director of Xuan Truong Construction Enterprise (contractor for Ham Nghi - Vung Ang Expressway) said: Currently now some The norms and unit prices for labor and machine shifts are not close to reality. The estimated material prices are not suitable for the local price level, causing difficulties for many contractors... Although the specific material mines have been granted to contractors for exploitation to serve the project, there is still no guidance on how to calculate material prices at the mines.
In addition, the design survey work has some deviations from the field. "Initially, it was planned to use 700,000m3 of rock from Km560 hill to make concrete and graded crushed stone. However, in reality, only about 100,000m3 were used, causing the unit to fall into a passive state regarding materials for bridges and culverts, and had to prepare an adjustment file.
Or like the Km535 hill location, the initial design plan was to dig. But when doing it, we encountered a lot of hard rocks and had to blast. And to blast, it took 3 months to complete the procedures... It is worth mentioning that when the weather was good, the unit had to go through the procedures. When the procedures were completed, it was raining and windy. These problems have greatly affected the progress and output of the construction," Mr. Chung gave an example.
Construction units of the two projects expressed their opinions and difficulties in project construction at the meeting.
Mr. Chung hopes that through the meeting, the Ministry of Transport will direct the Project Management Board and Consultants to work with contractors to resolve outstanding issues.
Also at the Ham Nghi - Vung Ang expressway project, Mr. Mai Anh Dong - General Director of Joint Stock Company 471 said that the unit is deploying simultaneously on the entire project. Progress has reached 33%.
Similar to other contractors, the biggest difficulty for 471 is the standard unit price and material adjustment problem.
According to Mr. Dong, looking at the report, it can be seen that the disbursement rate of this project is low, while the actual construction output of the contractor is high. The reason is that the approved output and payment after adjusting the material source are still low.
Therefore, the contractor requests the Ministry to direct the Project Management Board and consultants to promptly approve or increase the rate of temporary approval of completed volume for the contractor. For locations that require technical design adjustments or changes in weak soil treatment solutions, after the Board and consultants approve the implementation on site, they will also approve and sign the payment document appendix for the contractors or update it at a fixed time to avoid disbursement backlog.
The Deputy Minister requested units and contractors not to be subjective because the time to complete the project is approaching while output is still low.
Sharing the difficulties of the contractor, Deputy Minister Lam said that the design survey unit needs to be more careful. During the survey process, for locations using salvaged materials, the thickness of the drill bit must be increased to closely assess the geology. As reflected by the contractor, because the design is not close to reality, it leads to having to buy materials from commercial mines and buy commercial concrete, affecting the contractor's construction progress.
On the consultant side, engineer Nguyen Ngoc Dung - Head of the project package 12 Ham Nghi - Vung Ang (HECO Company) said: During the survey process, due to the limited number of drills, it was impossible to fully assess the reserves and quality of materials at the place of use. As soon as the discrepancy was discovered, the consultant worked with the Board to prepare a dossier and immediately approved the adjustment for the contractor.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Van - Deputy Director of the Department of Construction Investment Management (Ministry of Transport) assessed: Looking at the current progress and remaining time, the project can completely finish in June 2025.
However, Mr. Van also expressed concern when contractors' progress schedules were not linked to overall construction measures and were not linked to the site.
"The units need to review the whole project, the construction plan must be linked to the site. At the same time, continue to review and handle issues arising after the route is formed, such as: drainage system, traffic safety system, intersections... The process must be consistent in terms of documents and procedures, control the origin and quality of materials serving the project", Mr. Van said and added: Regarding the issue of material prices at the mine, the Department of Construction Investment Management has worked with the Department of Construction Economics (Ministry of Construction) to review and soon issue instructions on how to calculate prices.
Project quality is the decisive factor for the survival of the enterprise and the political life of project managers.
Recognizing the efforts of the contractors in both North-South expressway projects through Ha Tinh, Deputy Minister Nguyen Duy Lam emphasized: The contractors participating in the project were all carefully selected by the Ministry of Transport, they are capable and experienced units, especially those who have participated in previous expressway projects. Being selected is an honor but also a responsibility.
The North-South expressway project passing through Ha Tinh is still stuck with some power grid infrastructure.
This project started in January 2023, with some packages being 1-2 months behind. But after 14 months (nearly half of the project's implementation time), contractors have only completed about 30% of the work (Xuan Truong alone is about 20%).
"We are also striving to complete the project ahead of schedule, reaching the finish line on June 30, 2025. So the project construction time is only 15 months, and there is still a lot of work. We have overcome the most difficult things in the first stage, now we have to make more efforts and try harder" - the Deputy Minister said and asked the contractor to be aware of their responsibilities.
"The contractors who have been trusted and selected must fulfill their commitments to the investor and the Ministry of Transport. No matter what, quality must be put first. Quality must be determined as the decisive factor for the survival of the enterprise and the political life of the project management staff. Contractors must pay close attention, this is a designated bidding project, so everything must be done neatly, and the documents and procedures must be in order and complete," the Deputy Minister emphasized.
Xuan Truong Private Enterprise is constructing at Ham Nghi - Vung Ang project.
For more information, the Deputy Minister said: The Ministry of Transport is directing relevant units to remove difficulties for contractors, and coordinate with the Ministry of Construction to soon issue a new set of regulations on unit price norms.
However, the contractor himself must make an effort first, based on weather conditions and construction site conditions to work overtime, and develop a construction plan that is suitable for reality. The project time is running out, so the contractor must speed up the progress right now. At the same time, prepare supplies and materials in advance, so as not to be pushed into the final stage.
The Deputy Minister also requested that consulting units uphold their roles and responsibilities to promptly support contractors in handling arising issues and reviewing documents. Project management boards continue to closely follow localities to thoroughly handle existing problems regarding site clearance.
"The Minister has directed that, with 12 component projects of the North-South Expressway Phase 2, when the road is put into operation, the rest stops, smart traffic control center, and service roads must be completed at the same time. Therefore, from now on, the Project Management Board must develop an implementation plan," the Deputy Minister noted.
Reporting to the Deputy Minister and the working delegation, Mr. Ho Ngoc Loan - Deputy Director of Thang Long Project Management Board (Project Investor - Ministry of Transport) said: At Bai Vot - Ham Nghi project, up to now, the total output value of the two contractors VINACONEX and Corporation 319 of the Ministry of National Defense has reached 1,317 billion/4,873 billion (27%). The Board has disbursed 100% of the planned capital assigned in 2023 and 46% (607 billion VND) of the planned capital assigned in 2024.
Ham Nghi - Vung Ang project, up to now the project progress has reached 21.81% (output 1,377.04 billion/ 6,314.48 billion VND). In which, package XL11, the joint venture Xuan Truong - Tu Lap - 471 has completed 815/3,534 billion VND (equivalent to 23.07%). In this package, contractors Tu Lap and 471 have completed and exceeded the set progress. Xuan Truong alone has only achieved 19%.
The XL12 package of the joint venture Xuan Truong - Construction 368 has completed 562/2,780 billion VND (20.22%). The contractor Construction 368 has completed 42.5%, Xuan Truong has completed nearly 17% (2.6% behind schedule). The disbursement rate of the project in 2024 is 138/1,437 billion VND, about 9%.
According to Mr. Loan, Ha Tinh province has done a good job in site clearance and granting mines to contractors for construction. The problem here is that contractors must have a reasonable and scientific construction arrangement so as not to affect the progress.
After the Deputy Minister's inspection as well as today's meeting, representatives of contractors committed to arranging enough machinery and human resources for construction; In addition, the units will meet again to unify the organization of construction on the route in a systematic and scientific manner.
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