Why has the Ai Quoc ward residential and industrial service project not been accepted?

The residential and industrial service project in Ai Quoc ward (Hai Duong city) has been implemented for nearly 20 years but has not been accepted.

After many adjustments to extend the project completion time, the investor has not yet completed and overcome the existing limitations in technical infrastructure.

Nearly 20 years not completed

The Ai Quoc Ward Residential and Industrial Service Project was approved by the Provincial People's Committee in 2003 with a total area of ​​over 26.7 hectares in Ai Quoc Commune (now Ward). The project has a total investment capital of over 113 billion VND, with Nam Quang Infrastructure Investment and Development Joint Stock Company as the investor. The goal is to invest in synchronous technical infrastructure of the residential area and services for workers in Nam Sach Industrial Park according to the detailed construction plan at a scale of 1/500 approved by the Provincial People's Committee, contributing to promoting urban development in the area, partially solving the housing needs and other activities for workers and laborers.

Since 2004, the investor has implemented this project, leveling the ground, building roads, electricity and water systems, planting trees, etc. In December 2018, the Provincial People's Committee decided to adjust the detailed planning at a scale of 1/500 of this project for the second time. The province has adjusted the land use structure, cross-section and radius of some roads and technical items. By September 2020, the Provincial People's Committee decided to adjust this project, including: adjusting the investment scale of the technical infrastructure system for traffic, wastewater treatment system, increasing the capacity of the wastewater treatment plant from 600 m3/day and night to 1,000 m3/day and night... The total investment capital of the project increased from more than 113 billion VND to more than 184 billion VND. The Provincial People's Committee requested the investor to complete the technical infrastructure system within 12 months, from September 2020.

Although the province has adjusted and extended the time, the investor has not yet completed all items according to regulations. Nam Quang Infrastructure Investment and Development Joint Stock Company said that the reason is that the complicated developments of the Covid-19 pandemic in the 2020-2022 period have affected the project's progress.

Many limitations

The market area of ​​the project is currently abandoned, causing waste.

Through the reporter's investigation, the investor has been slow to overcome the limitations pointed out by the authorities. The Provincial People's Committee and relevant agencies have held many meetings to direct and resolve difficulties in the acceptance process of this project.

The Department of Construction has repeatedly instructed the investor to review the project's investment and construction work. On August 8, 2022, the department coordinated with the Hai Duong City People's Committee and the investor to conduct a preliminary review of the project's investment and construction process. The review results showed that the project still has many limitations and many items that need to be overcome. The Department of Construction requested the Hai Duong City People's Committee and the investor to review, report specifically, and overcome the limitations.

According to the People's Committee of Hai Duong City, the technical infrastructure acceptance of this project has encountered many difficulties and obstacles. The investor has not yet provided the adjusted and supplemented construction drawing design documents after the Provincial People's Committee approved and adjusted the investment project. The City People's Committee has held many meetings and sent a document requesting the investor to provide quality management documents including acceptance minutes, construction diary, completion drawings, input material certificates, test results, etc., but up to now, the city has not received all the documents, causing difficulties in reviewing investment procedures and inspecting and accepting the project on site.

According to the Hai Duong City People's Committee, many items outside the project site are different from the approved planning. The cross-section dimensions of traffic routes are different from the planning. According to the planning, the main traffic routes have a cross-section size of 27 m, but in reality, the construction size of some routes is smaller. Some manholes are missing, the water intake gates are damaged, and there is a lot of mud and dirt inside the manholes. The investor is still completing procedures to build the phase 2 wastewater treatment plant. The number, location and capacity of some transformer stations, low-voltage lines and cabinets, power supply locations and load sharing arrangements after the transformer stations are actually different from the approved planning.

The representative of Nam Quang Infrastructure Investment and Development Joint Stock Company explained that in fact, the Ai Quoc Ward Residential and Industrial Service Project has been implemented for a long time, going through many stages of changes, adjustments to laws, decrees, and guiding circulars. The project implementation process has been prolonged, the enterprise has still made shortcomings, and has not yet completed a number of legal procedures. The investor would like to update the changes in the design documents, request additional design appraisal and related procedures according to regulations. Regarding the project site, due to the long construction time and the initial limited management capacity of the investor, there have been differences in technical infrastructure during the implementation process. The investor will review and overcome these limitations.

Mr. Dinh Duy Do, Vice Chairman of Ai Quoc Ward People's Committee, said that many years ago, the investor transferred residential land to the people and signed a contract to sell kiosks in the project's market to small traders. Many people in the ward have petitioned to buy residential land in the project for many years but have not been granted "red books". The market is abandoned and wasted.

MINH HONG