Civil Engineering Bulletin: News, forums, jobs, software, freelance and ebooks - Viet Nam´s great works during 20 years of "doi moi"

Many national-and international-sized economic works have been built in Viet Nam during the 20-year renovation period (1986-2006), proving Viet Nam's great advance to the goal of "wealthy people, a strong country, and a just, democratic and civilised society".

The first one is the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant, which was built on the Da River in the northern mountainous province of Hoa Binh in December 1994. The plant has a designed capacity of 1,920 MW and includes eight turbine groups, with an annual electricity output of 8.16 billion kWh each group.

Besides providing electricity, the largest hydropower plant in Viet Nam as well as in Southeast Asia has contributed to the control of flooding in the Red River Delta and increased water volume for the lower reach in the dry season. It has also helped improve the river transport system in the northern delta and develop aquaculture in the Hoa Binh reservoir.

Established in 1981, the Viet Nam - Russia Oil and Gas Joint Venture Enterprise (Vietsovpetro), the first international Vietnamese project for exploration and production of oil and gas on the country's continental shelf, discovered the first oil stream spouting from the Bach Ho (White Tiger) Field.

Since its first crude oil tonne in June 1986, Vietsovpetro has exploited millions of tonnes of crude oil, making remarkable contributions to Viet Nam's economic growth between the late 1980s and the early 1990s.

In June 2005, with a crude oil output exploited from six fields on the country's continental shelf and the MP3 oilfield of nearly 184 million tonnes, Viet Nam was named on the list of crude oil exporters and ranked third among ASEAN countries in crude oil output.

Viet Nam's oil and gas sector exploited 18.6 million tonnes of crude oil and 6.6 billion cu.m of gas in 2005, gaining a total export turnover of over 7 billion USD, 1.33 billion USD higher than 2004's record level.

The 500 kV North-South transmission line has since it became operational in April 1994 brought about great effect in every field. The world's longest transmission system has had a strategic important significance on the country's socio-economic development, marking an advance of the power sector. The line has also provided a stable power source and improved electricity quality.

Thanks to the 500kV transmission line, the national power grid is linked into a system from the north to the south, ensuring sufficient power supplies to the whole national economy.

The Yaly Hydropower Plant, the second largest of its kind in Viet Nam after the Hoa Binh plant, was broken ground off construction on the Se San River in the central highlands province of Kon Tum on November 4, 1993. The first Viet Nam-built hydropower work was designed to have a capacity of 720 MW and an annual output of 3.7 billion kWh. The plant was built by some 10,000 Vietnamese workers and engineers and more than 80 foreign experts at a cost of 9.3 trillion VND.

With construction began in November 1999, the Hoa Lac High-tech Zone is part of a Mieu Mon-Xuan Mai-Hoa Lac-Son Tay urban chain, which was approved by the Governement in June 1997. It is expected that the zone will cover 1,600 hectares by 2020, with nine functional parts: the Technology Research and Application Section; the National Software Centre; the High-tech Industrial Zone; the Administration Centre; the Training Centre; the Commercial Complex; the High-quality Residential Quarter; the New Street and Entertainment Centre. The Hoa Lac High-tech Zone will become a high-tech centre of Southeast Asian standard.

Crossing the Tien River (a branch of Mekong River), the My Thuan Bridge, which was opened to traffic in May 2000 after three years' construction, is the most modern cable-stayed bridge in Viet Nam as well as in Southeast Asian. The 787 billion VND bridge lies in Highway 1A, the backbone main road linking western provinces with Ho Chi Minh City. The My Thuan Bridge marked an important turning-point in the development of transport infrastructure in Viet Nam, and a progress of Viet Nam's civil engineering technology.

The Vung Ang deep-sea port project in the central province of Ha Tinh was designed to transform the socio-economic situation in Ha Tinh as well as the entire northern-central region. The seaport serves as a trans-regional and international transport site, connecting to the trans-Asian transportation system and ASEAN's East-West Economic Corridor. The first phase of the Vung Ang industrial seaport zone, which includes two seaport complexes Vung Ang and Vung Son Duong, was put into operation in February 2001.

The Cai Lan deep-sea port in the northern province of Quang Ninh was put into operation in December 2003. It was the only deep-sea port in the north, passable to ships with load capacities ranging from 20,000 DWT to 50,000 DWT. The event was considered as a strategic break-through and as the first brick laying the foundation for robust Vietnamese maritime port economic development. Under the project, the 1.4 trillion VND Cai Lan seaport will include seven wharfs, with a total length of 1,461 metres, capable of receiving ships with load capacities ranging from 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes. It is expected that about 2.8 million tonnes of goods will be handled annually.

The Nghi Son Cement Plant in the central province of Thanh Hoa, which has a production capacity of 4.3 million tonnes per year, is the largest of its kind in Viet Nam, with total capital investment of 373 million USD. The first phase of the project was completed in November 2000 with an annual production capacity of 2.15 million tonnes per year, while the second phase has been under construction since late 2005.

The Ho Chi Minh Road, which began construction in the first quarter of 2000, is the second trans-Viet Nam route, and is of great importance to the country's industrialization and modernization process. The road, which is 3,129 km in length, goes through 29 provinces and cities from the northern province of Cao Bang to the southernmost province of Ca Mau. -Enditem.

Source: VNA