Stuck with land acquisition, over 300 billion VND traffic project has no completion date yet

The project to upgrade and renovate provincial road 553 in Ha Tinh has a total investment of more than 300 billion VND, expected to be completed in January 2024, but to date there are still dozens of households that have not agreed to the compensation agreement.

In 2021, the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province approved the feasibility study report on the investment in the construction of the project to renovate and upgrade Provincial Road 553 (DT.553) passing through Huong Khe district. The project has a total length of 8.8km, with a total investment of 266 billion VND. Later, the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province adjusted the total investment to more than 300 billion VND.

Starting point at km 39+030 in Loc Yen commune, Huong Khe district; ending point intersecting Ho Chi Minh road at km 47+830/DT.553 in Huong Tra commune, Huong Khe district.

The DT.553 upgrade project has a total investment of more than 300 billion VND. Photo: TL

The project is invested by the Ha Tinh Province Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board. Compensation and site clearance work is divided into sub-projects and assigned to the Huong Khe District People's Committee as the investor.

The project implementation period is 18 months, starting from August 2022 to January 2024. After that, the project implementation period was adjusted by the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province to December 2024.

However, the project is still not finished despite the deadline, and dozens of households have not agreed to hand over the land.

On December 6, the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province continued to issue a document agreeing in principle to extend the contract implementation period of the project's bidding packages until December 31, 2025. The Provincial People's Committee also assigned the People's Committee of Huong Khe district to focus on and synchronously implement solutions to complete compensation and site clearance work before November 30, 2024.

The project has 704 households subject to land acquisition. Photo: TL

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue (born in 1963, residing in Dong Giang village, Loc Yen commune) said that the project affected about 660 square meters of land of her family. Ms. Hue said that the land compensation price was low, so she did not agree to the agreement to implement the project.

"Each square meter of residential land is compensated 1 million VND, garden land is compensated about 130,000 VND/m2. In my opinion, that is too low. My house is affected about 660m2, and I have 3 sons. Now the project takes so much land, my 3 sons have no land to live on. I request higher compensation, or change the land to another location so that my children can have land to build a house," said Ms. Hue.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue said that the compensation price is low. Photo: TL

Speaking to VietNamNet reporters, the leader of the Ha Tinh Province Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board said that the project affects the land and houses of many households. Among them, more than 700 households in Huong Tra and Loc Yen communes are subject to site clearance.

According to the original plan, the project was to be completed in early 2024, however, the implementation process was delayed due to difficulties in site clearance. The Project Management Board reported to the Provincial People's Committee to request an extension of the project implementation schedule.

"Up to now, there are 80 households stuck with land acquisition and compensation, including households that have not agreed to receive money, households that are completing documents for the district to approve compensation costs, and 32 households that do not agree with the inventory results," the representative of the Project Management Board informed.

The project is unfinished due to land acquisition problems. Photo: TL

The Project Management Board said that the land acquisition problem comes from many factors, including the consensus of the people. Some people agreed from the beginning, but some people felt that the compensation was not satisfactory during the compensation process, so they did not agree. In addition, during the time of land acquisition, the land acquisition unit was busy with work and could not focus all of its time on the project.

"The project has only completed about 65% of the volume. The district proposed a plan to complete site clearance before November 30, 2024, but it is still stuck. If the site clearance is completed between December 2024 and January 2025, we will direct the construction units to speed up the progress and complete the project in 2025," the representative of the Project Management Board added.

Speaking with VietNamNet reporter, Mr. Thai Phuc Son, Chairman of Huong Khe District People's Committee, said that the project to renovate and upgrade DT.533 passing through the area is a very important route in economic development, but up to now the project is facing difficulties due to land acquisition problems.

"We are trying our best to educate the people, but many households are not cooperating. The district will support any legitimate opinions according to regulations, but proposals that are beyond our capacity and do not comply with regulations will not be met and will have to be enforced," said Mr. Thai Phuc Son.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/vuong-mat-bang-du-an-giao-thong-hon-300-ty-chua-hen-ngay-ve-dich-2353602.html