Hanoi (VNA) 🌌– Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang has issued a document requesting assigned agencies and units and the construction departments of localities step up the management, examination, and supervision of construction projects this ministry has invested.

In the recent past, the agencies and units assigned by the Ministry of Transport (MoT) to implement construction projects, especially those involving expressways, were asked to guarantee investment quality and effectiveness. However, there remains shortcomings related to site clearance, material supply, and progress. In particular, there has been the illegal transfer of contracts on some projects. To improve quality, tighten discipline, and deal with violations, the MoIT has asked the assigned agencies and units to comply with legal regulations on construction investment, as well as the transport minister’s directives on quality management, progress, discipline, and responsibility on the construction of transport infrastructure. Investors and project management boards must adhere to the law on the selection of contractors and on the drafting, negotiation and signing of contracts to ensure that contracts are sufficient, clear, and free of loopholes in terms of the rights and responsibilities of relevant parties, especially when it comes to price adjustment. They have to manage the implementation of signed contracts, frequently examine main contractors and sub-contractors, check the value and content of contracts, handle violations on sub-contractor use and contract transfer in a timely manner, and generally prevent illegal contract transfer. The MoT also requested its Transport Construction Investment Management Authority to work with the Public Procurement Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment to clarify the regulations relevant to illegal contract transfer to serve as the basis for examination and supervision. The authority also has to advise the MoT on settlement of violating contractors, and ramp up the supervision of bid calculations, and approval of funding estimates, technical designs. This includes investor invitations for bidding in order to select capable and suitable contractors, ensure sufficient funding, and minimise adjustments during project implementation. The MoT told project investors and management boards to coordinate closely with local authorities in site clearance, compensation, licensing and extension, improve the capacity of building material mines, and make use of leftover materials for construction. They were requested to prevent the use of materials with unclear origin, boost the management of construction quality, and ensure main contractors give timely advances and payments for sub-contractors to guarantee the progress and quality of projects. The Transport Construction Investment Management Authority was asked to summarise investor proposals and submit them to the MoT to ensure the efficiency of expressway projects./.