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| Piles of steel worth thousands of billion VND started to rust. |
When we were trying to clarify the claims by various members of the consultants of the project, saying that they had been threatened by local gangs, we contacted Th., one of the consultants, who assured that he himself had never been threatened by anyone. He also confirmed that L. Fernando Requena, the Chief Consultant of the project had gone back to the U.S.
Nguyen Hoang Anh Dung, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Anti-Flood Center also confirmed that the local authorities had sent various invitations to Requena to discuss solutions to the project but he had never replied or shown up.
According to the local immigration authority, Requena departed Vietnam for the U.S on July 14, 2018 and has not yet come back to Vietnam. However, his signature is still seen on the HTFC-SCFC/LO-18-067 document dated September 24, 2018, which was sent to the anti-flood center, refusing to meet with the authority for issues related to the anti-flood project.
Nguyen Van Hau, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, said Mrinhardt, a legal consultant company, has signs of various legal violations. Decree No. 09 and Decree No. 110 of the Government stipulate that signatures on administrative documents must be true signatures and the use of autographs and seals containing the signatures of others is against the law.
Requena is also the Managing Director of Meinhardt Construction Consulting Company, chosen by the project consultancies as the single representative to work with flood control center and the authorities of the city.
Fernando Requena during his time in Vietnam proved to be an unprofessional consultant. The most obvious evidence is that he signed a series of documents to the local agencies without the permissions of the other consultants.
Additionally, when the “super” project was postponed, he chose to flee instead of working with the contractors and the relevant local agencies to solve the problem.
He also let his subordinates use his autograph to sign on and aired documents that shocked the public and made the project “drowned”.
What is more surprising is that the city still has to pay him some 363 million VND (some $15,600) per month. He also enjoys other extra money exclusively for foreign experts of some 820 million VND (some $35,000), including flight tickets.
At a press conference held by the Municipal People’s Committee earlier this month, Mr. Vo Van Hoan, Head of the Office of the Municipal People’s Committee, emphasized that the delayed project had negatively affected the quality and value of the project and generated other costs. The authorities of HCMC also admitted their fault to the Government and people and promised to hold a meeting to clarify the responsibilities of all involved units and people and seek solutions to the project.
However, the problem still remains when the authorities do not know who they would work with when the legal representative of the project consultancies, Requena, has left the country.
Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has ordered the People’s Committee of HCMC to urgently resolve all problems related to the project.
Over the last 6 months, hundreds of engineers and workers of the project have been off work, and piles of steel worth thousands of billion VND started to rust. Trung Nam Group has appealed the municipal authorities for renewal of the project to avoid further losses.
Many people living in the areas affected by high tides have expressed concern when the flood season is at peak with complicated developments. They have been asking the local police force to immediately open an investigation into the case to clarify responsibilities of organizations and individuals and restart the project as soon as possible. The longer the project is delayed, the more local people suffer.
