VietNamNet Bridge – Seven construction incidents executed by Chinese contractors within a short period of time have raised major concerns.

Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang on December 29, 2014 released a decision suspending three officials responsible for the scaffolding collapse at the ongoing Chinese-contracted Cat Linh – Ha Dong elevated railway, according to Nguoi Lao Dong.

Prior to that, in November 2014, another accident occurred on the construction site, killing a bike rider on the spot. A crane was lifting a steel rod when a cable suddenly broke, and the rod fell and hit several motorbikes, injuring three other people.

The acting director of the railway project management unit (PMU) Nguyen Manh Hung has been demoted to deputy general director. Meanwhile, Nguyen Van Bao, deputy general director of the PMU, and Trieu Khac Dung, deputy head of the Construction Management and Transport Work Quality Agency have been reprimanded.

The 13.05 kilometer Cat Linh – Ha Dong elevated railway is a special project with an unprecedented financial mechanism and technology used for the first time in Vietnam.

The project initially was capitalized at $552 million, of which $419 million is sourced from Chinese ODA (official development assistance). China Railway Sixth Group Co. Ltd., a Chinese state-owned enterprise, acts as the EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) of the major package of the project.

Since October 2011, when the construction of the project began, the PMU many times proposed to increase the investment capital. In the latest move, it proposed to raise the investment capital to $868.04 million in November 2014.

Dat Viet newspaper reported that the Construction Management and Transport Work Quality Agency has proposed to the Minister of Transport to send a diplomatic note to the Chinese Embassy to inform them about the incidents.

It has also proposed replacing the consultant and the contractor of the railway project.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese contractor of the Da Dang hydropower plant project has pointed out that there are “big problems” with the the technical design provided by a Chinese Nan Ning-based company, because the design does not suit the local geological conditions.

Tien Phong newspaper quoted Tran Van Gian, general director of Lung Lo 2 JSC, the contractor, as saying that Lung Lo 2 repeatedly asked the investor to change the design and warned about accidents. However, the proposals all have been refused. As a result, the contractor decided to stop construction.

An accident occurred on December 22 at the Da Dang hydropower construction site, when the tunnel collapsed and trapped 12 workers. Luckily, the workers are now safe after the government mobilized all possible domestic sources to rescue them.

Kim Chi