Many road and other transport-related public works in HCM City have either been suspended or are progressing at a snail's pace because of a cash crunch.
The construction of a 10,347-km stretch of National Highway No 22 in Districts 12 and hoc Mon is a typical example. The Urban Transportation Management Unit No 3, which has been entrusted with executing the project, said the government had so far given only 20 billion dong (US$1.1) for the work for this year.
With the remaining 60 million dong yet to come, work on only three out of its six bidding packages was proceeding.
Borrow and build
The HCM City People's Committee is encouraging contractors to borrow money from banks to continue their work, promising the interest payments would be reimbursed..
But according to.the Urban Transportation Management Board, the contractors were apprehensive, saying they are not the investors but were merely paid to do the work.
Le Hoang Bao, head of the 504 Joint Stock Co's southern office, the contractor for the Ba Khoa Bridge in District 7, also said the authorities had, not named an agency to guarantee the loans.
Land issues are also delaying some projects. Work to build Nguyen Van Bua Street in Hoc Mon District, begun last August and was expected to finish earlier this year, has been suspended because some house owners are not cooperating in clearing land. Around 70 percent of the work has been completed so far.
Construction of the Pht1 Long Bridge over the Saigon River linking District 12 and Binh Duong Province also faces land clearance problems. Bui Manh Hung, deputy head of Civil Engineering Co No I, which has been entrusted with the construction, said work was likely be suspended since many rounds of negotiations had failed.
Delayed projects
The delay of 66 construction projects has cost HCM City more than 2.85 trillion dong ($160 million), according to a city report,
The report from the People's Council's Economic and State Budget Committee said the Can Gio District clean water supply system required the largest outlay of 733.7 billion dong ($41.219 million).
The project has been delayed for six years because of site clearance and land compensation hurdles.
The upgrading of Provincial Highway No 9 in Cu Chi District, which was held up for three years due to poor management, needs additional funds of 476.3 billion dong ($26.759 million).
A three-year delay has also affected the Hung Kings Monument's phase No 1, amounting to 233.8 billion dong ($13.137 million).
Slow disbursement of funds, a long construction approval procedure of 18 to 28 months and unqualified investors are among the causes behind the delays.
Nguyen Minh Hoang, head 'of the council's budget committee, urged concerned agencies to disburse funds for projects more quickly.
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