The Transport Construction Quality Control and Management Bureau assigned to investigate cracks that had appeared on the Thang Long Bridge 

The minister announced the inspections of the Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong Expressway (Ho Chi Minh City to Tien Giang Province), Thang Long Bridge (Hanoi), the Thang Long Highway (Hanoi) and the Cau Gie-Ninh Binh Highway (Hanoi to Ninh Binh Province), in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of a conference on traffic safety measures on November 28.

“During the inspection process, those responsible for the poor implementation of these projects, whether they’re individuals or agencies, will face strict punishments,” Thang said.

The minister added that he had personally checked the work on the Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong Expressway which had already experienced deterioration despite only being in use for just over a year. According to Thang, the ministry would strictly deal with the project’s consultancy and supervising unit, the project management unit and then the contractors.

Thang recently suspended La Chi Duc, director of the Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong Expressway project.

The minister had assigned the Transport Construction Quality Control and Management Bureau to investigate cracks that had appeared on the Thang Long Bridge in Hanoi.

The bridge, which had fallen under the direction of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, was a pilot in the use of new imported materials, Thang said, noting that the investigation should be carefully conducted, as overly negative reports could stifle new ideas and methodologies.

The ministry would carefully inspect the bridge to discover whether the damage was due to quality of the material or construction techniques employed.

To date, around VND100 billion (USD4.78 million) has been spent repairing the bridge’s surface, yet the situation has not improved. The causes of the cracking have yet to be determined.

Besides the four projects, the Ministry will also inspect Thanh Tri Bridge for depressions on its road surface.