Construction firm VINACONEX has apologised for poor quality of the main pipeline bringing water from the Da River to Ha Noi and pledged that another one that it is laying now will steer clear of mistakes made in the first.

Public demands answers as Hanoi's major water pipe breaks for ninth time

Vu Quy Ha, General Director of the Viet Nam Construction and Import-Export Corporation (VINACONEX), made the apology at a press conference in the capital city on Tuesday, after the pipeline broke for the ninth time since 2009.

He said the company was sorry for the inconvenience caused to more than 70,000 households, especially during hot summer days.

Ha pledged to accelerate investment in the VND4 trillion (US$189 million) second phase of the project that is expected to begin in September.

The second phase includes a 28km-long pipeline running parallel to the current one from National Highway 21 to the Belt Road 3 that will be built at a cost of VND1 trillion ($47.2 million).

This would ensure that water supply would be maintained even if breaks occurred in the existing pipeline, he added.

Costly inexperience

Ha blamed the breaches on the quality of pipes and "weak soil" around them.

A report by the Ministry of Construction has concluded that one of the reasons for the breaks was the material used, a fiberglass composite material made by Vinaconex Fiberglass Pipe JSC.

"It was the first time this material was used for water pipelines in Viet Nam. So the company had no experience with it", he said.

The vibration impacts on the water pipe, especially its surface, during transportation and installation have affected the bonding of materials, he added.

Metal pipes

Ha said they would use the pipes made from different materials, like metal, for building the new pipeline.

Currently, the corporation is considering the use of metal pipes produced in Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces that have been used for a clean water supply station in Thu Duc District in HCM City.

"If this material is suitable, we will use it for the second phase," Ha said.

He also said that the corporation had asked relevant units to report on the breakages and clarify responsibilities for them.

Nguyen Van Thinh, deputy chairman of the municipal People's Committee, said his administration would strengthen inspections of the second phase's implementation, focusing particularly on the quality of pipes used.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Vietnam News Agency, Le Quang Hung, director of the State Department on Construction Quality Verification, said that VINACONEX, the technical design company, construction contractor, pipe manufacturer as well as project operator, had to take responsibility for the pipe breaks.

As the project investor, VINACONEX also had the responsibility to continue to invest in laying the second pipeline as stated in the project document, he added.

Regarding the laying of the second waterpipe system, the Ha Noi People's Committee has promised to provide technical and financial support for the project.

It has also said that if VINACONEX delays the work, the committee would ask other investors to do it.

VNS/VNN