Trung Nam BT 1547 Co Ltd, which has been carrying out a major flood tide control project worth nearly VND10 trillion in southern HCMC, has informed city authorities of a suspension of construction work.

Muong Chuoi floodgate is an important part of the flood tide control project 

According to information the Daily has obtained, the company said in its announcement that the stoppage had resulted from the Saigon branch of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) suspending disbursing capital for the project. This is because the HCMC government has yet to sign a minutes recognizing capital disbursement.

Due to the capital shortfall, Trung Nam BT 1547 decided on April 27 to suspend the project until the problem is solved. 

The announcement was also sent to contractors of key components. Implementation activities are only ongoing at sites critical to traffic safety. 

Before the announcement of the project suspension was made, the company early last month proposed the city government solve issues concerning assessments by the consulting firm.

According to Trung Nam BT 1547, the issues are not directly related to the progress and quality of the project but play a part in slowing down the project’s progress. 

A representative of the company told the Daily on May 2 that besides paperwork problems and capital disbursement delay, the suspension was also caused by the later-than-expected transfer of cleared land.

According to the source, the project was originally planned to be finished in three years, from June 2016 to June 2019, and it is 70% complete. Whether the project is completed early or late depends on when the procedural issues and site clearance are solved.

The project’s investor has recently said that it will try to shorten the implementation duration to 24 months and use the remaining time for test operation.

Major components of the project are six big floodgates which are 40-160 meters wide, and pumping stations at Ben Nghe, Tan Thuan and Phu Dinh floodgates. The investor will also build a dyke along a 7.8-kilometer section of the Saigon River and 25 small floodgates.

Construction sites are in districts 1, 4, 7, 8, Nha Be and Binh Chanh and cover around 100 hectares of land. More than 300 households with over 1,500 people had to be relocated.

The project, once completed, is expected to prevent flooding in around 570 square kilometers with roughly 6.5 million residents.

SGT