Standing Vice Chairman of the Bac Giang People's Committee of Lai Chau Son presides over the meeting. Photo: BGP/Nguyen An.

According to a report presented by the provincial Department of Transport, site clearance in Bac Giang city has completed in the main route, except the intersection of Highway 31, while the draft plan of resettlement support for nine affected households has been completed and will be made public.

Meanwhile, Lang Giang district has approved ground clearance plans for an area of 114.87 hectares out of total 170 hectares at the cost of 126.3 billion VND (5.5 million USD). The locality has handed over to investors about 85 hectares, equivalent to 13.2km out of total 19 km.

As the design of the intersection of National Highway 31 was yet selected, Bac Giang did not make site clearance compensation in this area and deliver expenses used for relocating tombs in Num village. In Lang Giang district, the area of some land plots shrank after re-mapping, while the classification of construction land and other kinds of land in the same plot remained difficult, affecting the progress of site clearance compensation.

At the working session, the representatives of agencies and localities proposed the investors submit to the local authorities for approval the planned design of the intersection crossing National Highway 31, thus enabling the localities to implement compensation plans. The investors should mobilize human and vehicle resources to promptly work in the construction area they have received, to prevent complicated issues from arising.

Concluding the meeting, Standing Vice Chairman of the provincial People's Committee of Lai Chau Son recognized difficulties and acknowledged the efforts of departments and localities in site clearance compensation. At the same time, he requested the agencies, units and localities to strengthen coordination, thus timely settling emerging problems as soon as possible.

The design of high-speed intersection at Highway 31 is discussed at the meeting. Photo: BGP/Nguyen An.

In particular, it is necessary to basically complete the handover of the entire site of the main route in 2017. To achieve this objective, agencies and departments need to strengthen communications and publicise regulations on the policies in site clearance, he said. He also asked for flexibility in determining boundaries of land categories, ensuring the maximum benefits for locals in line with the law. Local authorities should work harder to build resettlement plans to create a high consensus in the community.

At the same time, Bac Giang city and Lang Giang district must actively coordinate with relevant agencies and agencies to strengthen communications to create consensus among people and speed up the progress of site clearance, thus early completing the hand-over of the ground to investors as planned. It is necessary to rapidly carry out the relocation of public works within the affected area.

He also requested the Department of Transport to closely monitor the site and actively coordinate with relevant agencies in timely advising the Steering Committee on Ground Clearance to solve arising difficulties and problems and prepare plans to examine the intersection at National Highway 31. The department should also work with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to set up support teams to work directly in the field to control the situation and support the settlement of difficulties.

BOT investors should also direct the contractors to closely coordinate with the departments, sectors and localities in promptly removing difficulties and problems. Particularly, it is a need to deploy human resources and vehicles on the ground when it was cleared and handed, while coordinating with local authorities to solve problems related to the high-speed intersection at Highway 31. The provincial leader urged contractors to strictly abide by regulations on traffic safety and loading capacity as well as the environmental sanitation rules during construction, contributing to ensuring the schedule and progress of the work.

Nguyen An