Construction of Thu Thiem Bridge-2 on schedule
Construction of the Thu Thiem Bridge-2 that will connect District 1 with the Thu Thiem New Urban Area has been speeded up on priority so as to complete it on schedule. The VND 4,260 bn bridge project was visited by Saigon Investment and up till now the construction is at a stage where the concrete structure on the main bridge span has completed 11 out of 34 pillars and the steel girder spanning the Saigon River has completed three out of 17 beams, while on 4 April, the first cable was also pulled up.
The abutment construction of the bridge on the District 1 side is now 100% complete, and has completed the pre-stressed concrete structure of the scaffolding from AS5 to AS9 pier, reaching 228/438md and now the construction of AS9 to AS10 and AS3 to AS5 is on. The construction engineers are striving to complete the main bridge by September, though the bridge extensions of N1 and N2 have not yet received ground clearance. According to the blue print, the Thu Thiem Bridge-2 will be a steel structure of cable-stayed span and will be open for traffic in December.
The current Covid-19 pandemic hindered the recruitment of more experts and personnel from abroad and the investor's representative said that in order to prevent the spread of disease in the community they followed strict procedures such as organizing alternate construction groups, focusing on construction of important features, limiting the number of workers, setting up a disinfecting routine, wearing masks and protective equipment, and maintaining a distance of two meters. Currently each shift has about 50 employees, which is down by 50% compared to normal times.
Metro No. 1 Project nearing completion
The Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) and the contractors launched a competition to accelerate the construction progress of the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien Metro No. 1 project. The goal set for 2020 is to complete 85% of the tasks and finally complete the project by the end of 2021. The project was started in August 2012 and by the end of January 2020 about 70% of the construction will be completed.
Mr. Vo Van Hoan, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, said that this Metro Line marks the friendship between Vietnam and Japan, which will transform Ho Chi Minh City. According to a previous plan, the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien Metro Line No. 1 was to be completed by 2020, but legal issues delayed the project. At the end of 2019, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City issued a decision approving some adjustments to the project, and the completion of this VND 43,700 bn project was moved to end of 2021.
Mr. Bui Xuan Cuong, Head of Management Authority for Urban Railways, said that in order to reach the goal of completion by end of 2021, the Management Board and the contractors will focus on handling contractual problems, disbursement, and improving processes to accelerate the progress of the project. Although the Covid-19 pandemic has caused many setbacks, the investor as well as the construction units will work to ensure the completion of the project as per schedule.
Accelerating the flood settlement project
The People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City is urging the competent authorities to hand over the site for the flood settlement project at the earliest. The Trung Nam Group is investing nearly VND 10,000 bn in this project which will protect a part of Ho Chi Minh City from being inundated during high tide. This will be the first phase of the project and will be an important premise for investors to accelerate the construction progress.
Under the direction of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, the current implementation of this project has been assigned to the Binh Chanh District People's Committee to handle the compensation and resettlement of the construction land. At the same time, the Saigon Port Joint Stock Company was requested handing over of two buoy berths anchored at Tan Thuan sluice gate to Trung Nam BT 1547 Company Limited to execute the construction. In addition, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has also asked the Southern Air Petrol Logistic Joint Stock Company to suspend the construction of the wharf that is affecting the embankment section-2 of the project.
Talking to Saigon Investment, a representative of the investor said that the related parties are now trying to disburse the project in the next one or two weeks. Major items of the project include: Ben Nghe sluice, Tan Thuan sluice, Phu Xuan sluice, Muong Chuoi sluice, Cay Kho sluice, Phu Dinh sluice and key dyke embankments. Meanwhile, in housing projects, Mr. Le Hoa Binh, Director of Department of Construction, said that for non-urgent projects, the department has recommended reducing construction activities. All construction projects must ensure absolute safety, in line with the necessity of maintaining social distancing in the current pandemic scenario.
