HCMC – Contractors working on Hanoi City’s Beltway No. 4 project are coming under mounting cost pressure as fuel and construction material prices rise sharply, threatening progress on one of the capital’s key infrastructure projects.
With a total length of 113.52 kilometers, the Beltway No. 4 runs through Hanoi and the neighboring provinces of Hung Yen and Bac Ninh. About 57.52 kilometers of the route lies within Hanoi.
The Beltway No. 4 project consists of three components, which have generally remained on schedule.
However, representatives of the Hanoi Transport Construction Investment Project Management Board said the project is now facing growing challenges, reported the Vietnam News Agency.
They said geopolitical volatility worldwide and the conflict in the Middle East have pushed up domestic fuel prices, especially diesel, the main fuel used in construction. Rising fuel costs have increased transport expenses, lifted prices of building materials, and driven up overall construction costs.
These difficulties are having a major impact on the project schedule, as contractors are struggling to secure enough fuel and materials to maintain progress as directed.
Specifically, component 2.1 is facing difficulties in asphalt paving work. Contractors are proceeding slowly as fuel prices and asphalt material costs rise sharply.
Component 3 requires substantial construction materials, including more than six million cubic meters of fill soil, 4.1 million cubic meters of fill sand, around three million cubic meters of construction stone, and 2.6 million cubic meters of construction sand.
To address the issue, the board has asked the Hanoi People’s Committee to instruct the Hanoi Department of Construction to promptly publish monthly or timely updates on material prices and construction cost indices in line with market movements. This would help project owners adjust construction contract prices accordingly.
