VietNamNet Bridge – A lot of projects with the estimated investment capital of tens or hundreds of billions of dong have been proposed, while people have to think twice before spending any dong.

VND48 billion to remove the border line

The Hai Duong provincial transport department has drawn up a project worth VND48 billion just to remove the border lines on the roads which separate the lane for motor and non-motor vehicles. The project is expected to finish in June 2013.

The decision on removing the border line system has been applauded by local people, who even think that it’s a bit too late for the thing to be done. The traffic is heavy on the Highway No. 5, where the existence of a separation line for motor and non-motor vehicles cannot ensure the safety for people, but has brought the reverse effects, because the area for traffic is too narrow.

However, no one can imagine that the simple work would cost up to VND48 billion, a relatively high sum of money for the locality.

Experts have commented that VND48 billion is enough for building tens of kilometers of rural roads and upgrading urban roads. VND48 billion is equal to 10-20 percent of the budget income of the poor provinces. It is big enough to build 1,000 houses for the poor.

Pouring mud to encroach on the sea

The idea of pouring mud into the sea area first appeared in a dispatch from the Ministry of Transport to the Hai Phong City People’s Committee on April 3, 2012.

Prior to that, on December 2, 2011, Hai Phong submitted to the Prime Minister the two plans to pour mud to encroach on the sea. The Prime Minister then requested the transport ministry to work out with the city to define the volume of mud needed and the cost of the project.

Under the first plan suggested by Hai Phong localities, mud would be poured behind the embankment in the southern Cat Hai area. With the second plan, the mud would be poured in the area of the Nam Dinh Vu industrial zone.

However, JICA has advised to pour mud directly into the sea. The suggested solution has caused big worries that this would kill thousands of hectares of forests in the biological reserve area and hundreds of plantation varieties named in the red book.

VND12,174 billion to build the Ministry of Transport’s head office

The ministry has said it needs VND223 trillion to modernize its head office, upgrade the information technology infrastructure, develop the maritime fleet, air fleet and train workers.

The project, approved by the Transport Minister Dinh La Thang in late April 2012, showed that VND12,174 billion would be spent from now to 2030 to build and upgraded the ministry’s offices and the offices of 8 departments, agencies, 22 general corporations, 6 schools and research institutes.

As for the plan on developing the maritime fleet to have the total transport capacity of 15 million tons by 2015, the ministry has estimated that VND30 trillion would be spent to have 67 ships of different kinds.

The high estimated investment capital suggested by the ministry has shocked all people and experts, who believe that the huge sum of money should be spent to upgrade urban transport system.

VND10 trillion on culture projects

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to build tens of cultural and tourism works, estimated to cost VND10 trillion, while a lot of existing works have been left idle throughout the country.

It has also put forward the idea of the national biggest historical museum in Tay Ho Tay new urban area which may cost VND11.2 trillion.

Kien Thuc