The Hanoi-Hai Phong Highway must be completed as soon as possible toreduce the burden on National Highway 5, said deputy Prime MinisterHoang Trung Hai.
Construction of the 105 km expressway kicked offin 2008 under a build-operate-transfer contract and should have beencompleted in 2012. However, by the end of last year, only half the workhad been completed.
Project investor Vietnam InfrastructureDevelopment and Finance Investment Joint Stocks Company (Vidifi)attributed the delays to incapable contractors. The contractors, inturn, blamed the delay on slow land clearance.
After inspectingwork on the highway on August 22, Hai, who is also head of the NationalSteering Committee for key transport projects, said that all possibleresources should be mobilised to ensure the highway was completed bynext year. These would include funding, staff and even overtime shifts.
Thefirst 25 km of the highway, which stretches from Hai Phong City centreto provincial highway 353, is scheduled to be complete by December andthe rest by the end of next year.
Land clearance was nearlycomplete, said Vidifi chairman Dao Van Chien. Moreover, fewinfrastructure works remained on construction sites in Hung Yenprovince's Yen My district, Hai Duong province's Thanh Ha and Gia Locdistricts and Hai Phong City's Hai An district.
Over 12.174 trillion VND (580 million USD) or 68.6 percent of the contract value had been disbursed.
Constructionmaterial supply had been affected by an April rule cracking down onoverloaded vehicles, as suppliers shifted from roads to waterwaytransportation, Chien said.
He added that foreign constructors incharge of nine out of 11 major construction packages had failed tomobilise sufficient equipment and staff. After hiring cheap Vietnamesesub-constructors, they did not supervise them adequately, thus delayingprogress.-VNA
Construction of the 105 km expressway kicked offin 2008 under a build-operate-transfer contract and should have beencompleted in 2012. However, by the end of last year, only half the workhad been completed.
Project investor Vietnam InfrastructureDevelopment and Finance Investment Joint Stocks Company (Vidifi)attributed the delays to incapable contractors. The contractors, inturn, blamed the delay on slow land clearance.
After inspectingwork on the highway on August 22, Hai, who is also head of the NationalSteering Committee for key transport projects, said that all possibleresources should be mobilised to ensure the highway was completed bynext year. These would include funding, staff and even overtime shifts.
Thefirst 25 km of the highway, which stretches from Hai Phong City centreto provincial highway 353, is scheduled to be complete by December andthe rest by the end of next year.
Land clearance was nearlycomplete, said Vidifi chairman Dao Van Chien. Moreover, fewinfrastructure works remained on construction sites in Hung Yenprovince's Yen My district, Hai Duong province's Thanh Ha and Gia Locdistricts and Hai Phong City's Hai An district.
Over 12.174 trillion VND (580 million USD) or 68.6 percent of the contract value had been disbursed.
Constructionmaterial supply had been affected by an April rule cracking down onoverloaded vehicles, as suppliers shifted from roads to waterwaytransportation, Chien said.
He added that foreign constructors incharge of nine out of 11 major construction packages had failed tomobilise sufficient equipment and staff. After hiring cheap Vietnamesesub-constructors, they did not supervise them adequately, thus delayingprogress.-VNA
