Deputy general director of VEC arrested

Deputy general director of VEC arrested

Yesterday, Le Quang Hao was arrested by the Ministry of Public Security's investigative police department for offences against regulations of law on construction that lead to serious consequences (Article 298 of the Criminal Code 2015).

He is said to be responsible for not following procedures, standards, and design requirements in overseeing the inspection of a 65-kilometre section of the expressway, which resulted in poor project quality.

There are 14 others people, including Nguyen Tien Thanh (former director of the project management unit), Ha Van Binh (former director of the operation board of package No.7), Pham Dinh Phu (deputy general director of Phuong Thanh Transport Construction and Investment JSC, director of the operation board of package No.5), Nguyen Thanh An (deputy director of the operation board of package No.7), and employees of the corporation, the country's biggest expressway builder, members of the project management board, and staff from other companies have been arrested in relation to these crimes.

The expressway connecting Danang city and Quang Ngai province, which cost over VND34.5 trillion ($1.5 billion) to build, has developed cracks and potholes after a year in use.

The construction of the expressway had begun in 2013. A part of it was opened to traffic in 2017 and it became fully operational in September 2018. However, just a month after the opening, cracks and potholes were seen in the aftermath of a heavy downpour in the area. These were hundreds of square centimetres wide and 5-10 centimetres deep.

VEC recorded VND3.21 trillion ($139.57 million) in net revenue in 2018, an increase of 17 per cent compared to 2017. Most of this revenue came from the operation, maintenance, and handling of toll booths on expressways, and a smaller proportion came from financial investments and interest from bank deposits.