Cam Lam - Vinh Hao Expressway will be inaugurated and officially put into management and operation in the second half of April 2024.

Success thanks to the solution to the problem of capital diversification

According to the report of Cam Lam - Vinh Hao Expressway Joint Stock Company (project enterprise), the value of implemented output as of March 28 reached 99%, the disbursement value reached 91%. The acceptance of bid packages was completed on March 25. According to the plan, the State Inspection Council will inspect the project from April 6 to 10. Construction work in some remaining items such as fire prevention, lighting system, construction cleaning, clearance work... will be completed by April 5 at the latest.

Regarding the payment settlement, the project enterprise is urgently completing the documents for the work arising from the treatment of weak geology when building tunnels and weak soil when building roads. In preparation for the upcoming exploitation phase of the project, the project enterprise has worked with investors in the consortium to unify the scope of segments managed, operated and maintained by each unit. In addition, legal procedures and recruitment and mobilization of operational personnel are also being focused on.

At the time the contract was signed in July 2021, the Cam Lam - Vinh Hao Expressway project was the last of the three PPP component projects of the North - South Eastern Expressway in the 2017 - 2020 period to sign a BOT contract, but at the same time it was the first project to complete the arrangement of capital including equity and other mobilized capital for construction implementation. At that time, the remaining two PPP projects were "unsteady" due to the risk of "blocking" credit capital.

In addition to researching and selecting options to save VND 891 billion, equivalent to nearly 10% of the total project investment, the investor has created a "3P+" capital mobilization model to diversify investment capital sources for the project, reducing dependence on credit capital.

During Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's inspection trip to the North-South Expressway construction site during the 2022 Lunar New Year, when stopping at Cam Lam - Vinh Hao, the Prime Minister acknowledged and commended the investor for solving the "problem" of diversifying capital sources.

" At the Cam Lam - Vinh Hao expressway project, the investor had 4 sources of credit capital mobilization and successfully mobilized it, while the remaining 2 PPP projects did not have credit capital and did not have a plan to diversify capital sources, so the investor encountered difficulties. Through this, we can see the lesson that we must diversify capital sources to implement investment ," said the Prime Minister.

The final finishing touches are being rushed to completion.

Accompanying the Government for the common goal of the country

Right from the time of participating in the project bidding, the leading investor of the consortium has been interested in surveying and selecting quality material mines, aiming to prevent the total investment of the project from increasing due to difficulties in raw materials. Starting construction at a difficult time, surrounded by both scarce materials and "price storms", the Covid-19 pandemic broke out strongly, causing the project to postpone the start date by 2 months and transportation and travel were limited, the project enterprise proactively mobilized human resources, machinery and equipment to prioritize tunnel construction, taking advantage of tunnel excavated rocks that met the standards to process for the construction of a number of other items.

The implementation of the Cam Lam - Vinh Hao project had to face the problem of weak geology in the south of Nui Vung tunnel when it was not predicted by the consulting unit in the technical design, leading to a reduction of 2/3 of the tunnel excavation speed. Facing the risk of project delay, the project enterprise repeatedly reported to the Ministry of Transport to propose adjusting the design documents to suit the actual geological conditions, inviting representatives of the State Inspection Council, Project Management Board 85, technical design, and experts to participate in the assessment and find solutions.

Mr. Dang Tien Thang - Deputy Director of the project enterprise said that the Deo Ca investor has researched and applied the method of digging the upper half of the tunnel, combining it with making an inverted arch, temporarily supporting the structure during construction, controlling deformation every 2 hours, and working 24/7. This unit also increased the organization of construction teams in the North of the tunnel to make up for the progress.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hoai - Director of Project Management Board 85 highly appreciated the investor for his capacity, good financial potential, and experience in successfully implementing many complex projects in the past. Therefore, the project was arranged capital very quickly, the workload was huge with many difficulties but the investor was able to cope with them. At Cam Lam - Vinh Hao Expressway, there was the attention and direction of the National Assembly, the Government, the Ministry of Transport, the close coordination of the locality and related units, along with the project enterprise with a high spirit of determination, working methodically, working creatively, especially "respecting the promise" to complete the project on time.

" One thing that is particularly noteworthy is that the top leaders of investment enterprises, although managing large enterprises, are very close to specific tasks, are regularly present at the construction site to direct and coordinate with relevant parties, and promptly urge the removal of difficulties and obstacles for the project ," Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hoai shared.

On the route, there is the Nui Vung tunnel project with a length of 2.2 km, a scale of 3 lanes, a tunnel width of 14 m, after being put into operation, it will be the 4th largest road tunnel in the country.

Faced with each difficulty, the investor consortium gradually overcame it, determined not to let the project be "interrupted". Going beyond the simple goal of the enterprise to focus only on economic development, the representative of the project investor consortium shared: " Profits are not high, construction costs sometimes increased by up to 40% due to skyrocketing material prices, so the enterprise has to rely on output, equipment depreciation, and profit from labor but still in the spirit of sharing and accompanying the Government in the goal of completing the trans-Vietnam expressway network ".

As one of the auditing experts closely following the project's consultancy, Mr. Ngo Van Quy - Former Director of the State Audit Department IV commented that reducing the total investment, proactively sourcing a part of raw materials, overcoming unfavorable weather conditions for project construction, and many measures to help the project overcome difficulties are remarkable steps taken by the consortium of investors and project enterprises, harmonizing the interests of the people, the State, and enterprises.

" The Cam Lam - Vinh Hao expressway project is approaching the finish line, and will integrate into the North - South traffic network to serve convenient and safe traffic for people in the not too distant future. This is the most accurate proof of the creativity and overcoming difficulties of the investors of this project ," Mr. Ngo Van Quy emphasized.

It is expected that the Cam Lam - Vinh Hao expressway will be inaugurated and officially put into management and operation in the second half of April 2024.

The Cam Lam - Vinh Hao project has a total length of 78.5 km, starting at Km54+00, behind Cam Ranh intersection in Cam Thinh Tay commune, Cam Ranh city, Khanh Hoa province; ending at Km 134+00, Vinh Hao commune, Tuy Phong district, Binh Thuan province. The route is designed according to expressway standards, in which the investment phase has a scale of 4 lanes, a roadbed width of 17 m with a design speed of 80 km/h. On the route, there is the Nui Vung tunnel with a length of 2.2 km, a scale of 3 lanes, a tunnel width of 14 m, after being put into operation, it will be the 4th largest road tunnel in the country.