HCMC – Many local companies want to get involved in the development of several sections of the North-South Expressway project in the 2021-2025 period.
They include Trung Nam Construction and Engineering Corporation, Truong Thinh Group JSC, Phuong Thanh Tranconsin and Deo Ca Group.
Trung Nam Construction and Engineering Corporation has proposed developing packages worth VND20 trillion with a total length of some 100 kilometers, news site VnExpress reported.
Truong Thinh Group JSC is seeking to get involved in the 67.8-kilometer Van Ninh-Cam Lo section in the central provinces of Quang Binh and Quang Tri. The company has even committed to completing the section six months earlier than planned.
According to a leader of the Planning and Investment Department under the Ministry of Transport, many other firms, including Him Lam, Hoa Binh, Son Hai, Ligico 16 and Hung Thinh, want to be independent contractors of the expressway project or join consortiums of contractors.
They have pledged to mobilize capital and equipment and ensure the quality of the expressway. Some have even promised to get their job done three to six months earlier than planned, thus saving at least 5% of the estimated costs in the packages.
The Ministry of Transport has yet to set out criteria to choose contractors for the North-South Expressway project.
In mid-March, the Ministry of Planning and Investment proposed a set of standards for expressway contractors. Accordingly, the ministry suggested contractors have experience in similar projects, meet financial requirements and place deposits. Contractors with available material, equipment and human resources should be prioritized.
The ministry also proposed not dividing subprojects into multiple smaller packages. The size of each package must match the capacity of domestic contractors.
The 729-kilometer eastern North-South Expressway project in the 2021-2025 period requires an estimated VND147 trillion and is divided into 12 subprojects. The National Assembly approved the project in November last year.
To accelerate the progress of the project, the Government issued a resolution allowing the appointment of contractors for consulting and construction packages of the 12 subprojects. According to the Ministry of Transport, the contractor’s appointment will help shorten the project’s execution period by three to four months to complete the project by 2025 as planned.
