Korean chairman apologies for mistake in construction of Vietnam’s longest expressway
Korean chairman apologies for mistake in construction of Vietnam’s longest expressway
The CEO and director of a South Korean contractor has sent a letter to the Ministry of Construction to apologize for a mistake the company made while building a section of the Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway project.
Accordingly, in the letter Jang Hae Nam, CEO and director of Keangnam Enterprise Co Ltd, apologizes to the government and the people of Vietnam for the delay in the construction of a 71-kilometer stretch of the country’s longest expressway project.
As the main contractor of two packages, A4 and A5, under the expressway project, the South Korean CEO said the two sections have been implemented according to standardized international practices set by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC).
The consultants and contractors, such as Japanese design consultancy OC and Spanish supervisory consultant Gentisa, are reputable companies which have been selected through international bidding.
"However, since the road was opened to traffic, cracks have appeared within the Km 82-Km 83 section.”
“This incident has greatly annoyed people in Vietnam, affecting the credibility of the Ministry of Transport; the investor,- Vietnam Expressway Co (VEC); and the prestige of the main contractor, Keangnam, "Nam wrote in the letter.
“The unfortunate incident on the one-kilometer long section is an objective technical problem,” Nam said, adding that the main reason behind the cracks was “unusual geological conditions destabilizing the structures of the road’s surface.”
“This issue was also anticipated by the consultants and the contractor as such unusual incidents can occur due to the complexity of soft ground.
“As a result, the contractor and the VEC have erected an observation system to closely track when any new incident occurs.
“Such incidents have taken place on a number of international projects constructed by Keangnam,” Nam added.
He also emphad that, during the construction of the road, the contractor had to comply strictly with technical standards under the strict supervision of international consultants.
He also confirmed there were no shadowy relationships or bribes between the investor, the consultants and the contractor during the project’s implementation.
Also, Keangnam has committed to using all of its resources to fix the cracks and restore the road and its surface to optimal condition.
The main crack in question is 73 meters long and falls under the A4 package. This stretch was built by Keangnam, OC and Gentisa, the three foreign firms discussed above.
The 245km-long expressway cost US$1.25 billion and is divided into eight packages, from A1 to A8. It opened to traffic on September 21 after 5 years of construction.
However, several cracks running from one side of the road to the other have appeared between Yen Bai and Phu Tho provinces. Cracks have also appeared in sections of packages A2, A3 and A4.
According to representatives of the VEC, ten locations along the road need to be tracked for soft ground and subsidence in order to improve weak soil segments so that they will be stable in the future, especially those under the A2, A3 and A4 packages.
Late last month VEC told the Vietnam News Agency that it had predicted the appearance of the cracks and had placed a warning sign near the area beforehand – as well as nine other soft spots along the expressway.
A VEC representative said that torrential rains triggered by two recent storms could have undermined the road.
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