According to the latest report of the Department of Construction Investment Management under the Ministry of Transport (MoT) on the implementation of the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway project (phase 1), the MoT is currently appraising the project dossier on investment policy adjustment and completing it to submit to competent authorities according to regulations.

Accordingly, the project is divided into three sub-projects and is facing many difficulties and problems in site clearance, resulting in the increase in the total investment costs.

The construction progress for Sub-projects has not met expectations due to delays in land handover

The report said the construction progress for Sub-project 1 and Sub-project 2 has not met expectations due to delays in land handover. For Sub-project 1, only about 67% of the land has been handed over, while for Sub-project 2, just about 93.43%.

In addition, the construction for resettlement areas for Sub-project 1 (in Bien Hoa City) has not been launched and for Sub-project 2 (in Long Thanh District) has not been completed.

In particular, the relocation of technical infrastructure works is slow, including the power grid works of over 35KV, or water supply pipes with the diameters of over 500mm, which has affected the construction progress of the project.

In addition to the rise in site clearance costs, the addition of intersections, bridges, toll stations... also leads to the adjustment of the total project investment.

Specifically, land clearance costs for the sub-projects have increased by approximately VND4.08 trillion compared to the estimates in the total investment approved under NA Resolution 59/2022/QH15. The rise in land clearance costs has led to the total project investment exceeding the initial estimate approved by the NA, necessitating adjustments to the investment policy.

Meanwhile, for Sub-project 3, the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial People’s Committee has proposed adding the My Xuân - Ngai Giao interchange which would increase costs by an estimated VND1.58 trillion; adding a number of bridges at the intersection, toll station system, vehicle weight station... with the investment cost of VND 619 billion.

“Thus, the total investment of the project is expected to increase by about VND6.28 trillion compared to the NA’s initial estimate from VND17.837 trillion to VND24.117 trillion,” said the Ministry of Transport.

Accordingly, the MoT requested Dong Nai Province to direct and urge relevant agencies to focus on resolving difficulties and obstacles, urgently and make efforts to speed up the progress of compensation and relocation of technical infrastructure; and also construction progress of resettlement areas, especially two resettlement areas in Bien Hoa City.

At the same time, the province is to prioritize the handover of basic locations for contractors’ construction; speed up the payment progress so that the local people would complete the land handover soon.

In particular, the MoT has requested the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee to clarify the increase in compensation, support and resettlement costs at Sub-projects 1 and 2 to have a basis for completing internal appraisal and dossiers on the adjustment of the project’s investment policy, and submit them to competent authorities according to regulations.