Party work in the unit implementing the Hanoi - Hai Phong Expressway Project

09/11/2010

On September 14, 2005, the Politburo issued Resolution No. 54/NQ-TW on socio-economic development and ensuring national defense and security in the Red River Delta region until 2010 and with a vision to 2020, aiming to leverage the potential, strengths, and geographical location of the key economic region of Northern Vietnam; playing a leading role in promoting and supporting the development of other regions. The Resolution required accelerating the construction of new infrastructure to create favorable conditions for attracting domestic and foreign investment.

In line with that policy, the Prime Minister decided to accelerate investment in infrastructure development for the Northern key economic region, including the Hanoi-Hai Phong Expressway Project. However, due to limited state budget for basic construction, the Government adopted a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model. On April 17, 2007, in Notice No. 75/TB-VPCP, the Prime Minister assigned the Vietnam Development Bank (VDB) to lead the effort, along with several enterprises, to mobilize capital for the Hanoi-Hai Phong Expressway Project under the BOT model. Based on this, the Vietnam Infrastructure Development and Financial Investment Corporation (VIDIFI) was established and began operations in September 2007 to implement the Hanoi-Hai Phong Expressway Project.

Construction site of the Hanoi - Hai Phong expressway.

To quickly strengthen the grassroots Party organization, in October 2007, the Party Committee of Vietnam Development Bank issued a decision to establish the VIDIFI Party Branch with 20 Party members to lead the enterprise in successfully implementing its political tasks. To date, the VIDIFI Party Branch has been upgraded to a grassroots Party Committee with 84 Party members operating in 10 subordinate branches, marking a significant step in the maturity and growth of the VIDIFI Party Committee.

First Party Congress of VIDIFI Corporation -
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VIDIFI Corporation Party Committee

Since its establishment, the VIDIFI Party Committee has always considered the leadership and implementation of the Hanoi - Hai Phong Expressway Project as its top political priority, focusing all resources on the project's vigorous implementation to ensure its quality and progress.

The Hanoi-Hai Phong Expressway Project was the first project implemented under a new mechanism and with a large total investment. Therefore, the issuance of policies and mechanisms for the project's implementation was particularly important. Recognizing this, the VIDIFI Party organization led the coordination with relevant agencies and units to submit to the Prime Minister for the issuance of policies and mechanisms to create a legal framework for project implementation. On November 29, 2007, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 1621/QD-TTg on a number of pilot policies and mechanisms for investment in the Hanoi-Hai Phong Expressway Project. Subsequently, on July 1, 2009, the Prime Minister issued Decision 938/QD-TTg amending and supplementing Decision 1621/QD-TTg to gradually refine policies and mechanisms to suit practical realities and facilitate project implementation.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai and a delegation of government officials inspected the Hanoi-Hai Phong expressway project site.

The VIDIFI Party Committee has urgently led the research and development of the organizational structure and operational mechanisms, especially policies to attract high-quality human resources in the fields of construction, transportation, project management, and economics. This is crucial to the effectiveness and success of project implementation. Initially, VIDIFI had nearly 30 staff members; today, it has 192, including 136 with university degrees, 39 with master's degrees, and 1 with a doctorate. The staff and Party members all possess strong political convictions, good character, professional expertise, management capabilities, and work experience, meeting the job requirements. To effectively utilize the current human resources and continue attracting talent, the Party Committee continues to provide theoretical and professional training, improve the quality of the working environment, and offer reasonable and competitive salaries.

The VIDIFI Party Committee has led the effective coordination with the Steering Committee for Land Clearance in provinces and cities, and the Land Clearance Committees at the district level, to decisively implement land clearance work, considering it a fundamental task during the past term. In areas where land clearance has been completed, the removal of organic soil and site preparation have been carried out to ensure timely handover of the land to the contractor. To date, approximately 95% of the land clearance work has been completed; the remaining uncleared land includes residential land, cemetery land, and technical infrastructure. Although the land clearance work has been assessed by relevant agencies as being faster than other projects, it is still behind schedule.

Faced with the current difficulties in land clearance, VIDIFI promptly reported to the Prime Minister and relevant ministries and agencies for guidance. Therefore, in the first six months of 2010, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong and Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai led two delegations to inspect and assess the situation, providing timely guidance to localities to accelerate land clearance efforts. As a result, despite many remaining challenges, land clearance work has been implemented more decisively by the localities.

The Hanoi-Hai Phong Expressway project was granted special mechanisms by the Prime Minister for contractor selection. However, to ensure the safety and efficiency of capital, the VIDIFI Party Committee led the bidding process in accordance with the law to select reputable and capable consultants for technical design, technical design review, supervision, and construction. To date, contracts have been signed for 5 out of 10 main construction packages, and construction has commenced. The remaining 5 packages are expected to begin construction in the fourth quarter. Domestic contractors have basically completed the removal of the topsoil and backfilling, and the road construction site has been largely established along the entire route. Due to the large scale of the project, its passage through areas with complex geology, and the need to address most of the weak soil conditions (approximately 80%), the VIDIFI Party Committee directed the acceleration of research and organized study tours to learn from domestic and international experiences in order to apply scientific and technological advancements and project management methods with the aim of ensuring the quality of the construction, the completion of the project on schedule, and economic efficiency.

To ensure material security, the VIDIFI Party Committee has led the enterprise to proactively work with the People's Committees of provinces and cities to gain the right to exploit certain material mines (sand, stone, soil) and to cooperate in business with conveniently located depots for material storage along the entire route. Steel has been stockpiled, and the production of some concrete components is underway to ensure that the total investment is not significantly affected by rising material prices.

The VIDIFI Party Committee has led the coordination with provinces and cities to urgently develop investment projects for urban and industrial zones synchronized with the Hanoi-Hai Phong expressway, in order to plan for capital recovery for the project. To date, procedures have been completed to submit to the Hanoi People's Committee for approval of the 1/2000 detailed planning of the Gia Lam New Urban Area and Park Project, covering an area of approximately 800 hectares. The Prime Minister has agreed to add three industrial zones to the list of priority industrial zones for new establishment by 2015 and with a 2020 orientation in Hung Yen province. Regarding industrial and urban zones in Hai Duong and Hai Phong, the VIDIFI Party Committee is actively coordinating with relevant agencies to determine planning boundaries and complete procedures for submission to competent authorities for approval in accordance with the law.

Construction site of the Hanoi - Hai Phong expressway.

Due to the large scale and high complexity of the project, and the fact that the construction contractors are mainly foreign companies, the Party Committee has focused on directing coordination with the police to ensure safety, security, and prevention in management. Accordingly, in 2009, VIDIFI organized a signing ceremony and implemented a coordination agreement with the General Department of Security and the Economic Crime Investigation Department - General Department of Police - Ministry of Public Security. In practice, after one year of implementation, it has yielded good results, with many cases resolved promptly, especially in land clearance and ensuring the smooth transportation of materials. Currently, the Party Committee is directing a preliminary review of the coordination agreement to draw lessons and make necessary additions; this work will be organized in the third quarter.

The VIDIFI Party Committee consistently adheres to the leadership and guidance of the higher-level Party Committee, specifically the Party Committee of the Vietnam Development Bank; it focuses on the political and ideological work of cadres and Party members; and actively promotes the campaign "studying and following the moral example of Ho Chi Minh" with the spirit of "matching words with actions," and "daring to think, daring to act, and daring to take responsibility." At the same time, it leads and organizes mass organizations such as the trade union, women's association, and youth union to promote their roles and functions, creating consensus and determination in the project implementation process.

Thanks to the coordinated leadership of the VIDIFI Party Committee in implementing its tasks, the Hanoi-Hai Phong expressway project, despite facing numerous difficulties and complexities, has achieved noteworthy initial results. In particular, land clearance has reached approximately 95%, with international contractors urgently implementing five construction packages. For the remaining packages, VIDIFI is coordinating with relevant parties to negotiate and select contractors according to the requirements of international loan funds. Construction is expected to begin along the entire route in December 2010. In the coming term, the VIDIFI Party Committee will continue to focus on leading the implementation of this project, considering it a top priority political task, striving to complete it on schedule, ensuring the quality of the construction, safety, and efficiency of the investment capital.

PVB - VIDIFI

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