Major highway project director sacked

The managing director of the Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong expressway project has been sacked for poor construction quality.

La Chi Duc was yesterday removed from his post while there other officials were reprimanded.

The three latter are Do Ngoc Dung, deputy general director of Cuu Long corporation (project’s investor), Nguyen Huy Thao, director of the center for provisional management of the expressway, and Le Van Ngoan, Thao’s deputy.

They were found responsible for the damage to a long section of the US$476 million expressway, which is 39.8 km long and runs through HCMC, Long An and Tien Giang Provinces.

A report about the disciplines and another about the reparation of the damaged section have been sent to the Transport Ministry.

On November 21, Transport Minister Dinh La Thang requested the investor - Cuu Long Traffic Safety Infrastructure Investment, Development and Management Corporation - to suspend Duc.

Duc is considered responsible for the damage to the section that was built by the Traffic Works Construction Corporation (Cienco 5) in late 2010.

In mid-October 2011, the plastic concrete surface of the section was seriously damaged, creating numerous potholes that caused many accidents to drivers.

Some investigations by Cuu Long later showed that it was the poor quality of the concrete produced by Cienco 5 that caused the situation.

An on-the-spot test showed that the content of plastic in the concrete was lower than the required level.

As reported by Tuoi Tre, about 500 potholes of various sizes were found on a 10 km section, and the repair work on the section was cursorily performed with no regard for quality or public safety.

Cuu Long explained that the repair could not be carried out until November 15 due to the rainy season.

The repair is expected to be completed before December 15 and Cienco 5 and some other relevant contractors will bear all costs, Cuu Long added.