ADB TA 7045-VIE: Preparing the Central Mekong Delta Region Connectivity Project

SMEC International Pty Ltd in association with Nippon Engineering Consultants Co Ltd and Thanh Cong Transport Engineering Consulting Company

Component 6 – My An to Cao Lanh Summary Project Report

January 2011

For:

ADB PPTA 7045-VIE:

Preparing the Central Mekong Delta Region Connectivity Project

Component 6 – My An to Cao Lanh Connecting Road Summary Project Report

January 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction...... 1 2 The Project ...... 4 2.1 Rationale ...... 4 2.2 Impact and Outcome ...... 4 3 Technical Considerations ...... 5 3.1 General ...... 5 3.2 Route Alignment ...... 5 3.3 Road Embankment ...... 6 3.4 Bridges ...... 7 3.5 Geotechnical ...... 15 3.6 Economic...... 20 3.7 Unexploded Ordinance (UXO) ...... 24 3.8 Poverty and Social ...... 28 3.9 Resettlement Plan ...... 30 3.10 Environmental Impact Assessment ...... 32 4 Recommendations ...... 38 LIST OF LINKED DOCUMENTS ...... 39

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LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Central Mekong Delta Region Connectivity Project Components April 2010...... 1 Table 3.1: Bridge Road Clearances – Component 6 ...... 9 Table 3.2: Bridge Navigational Clearances – Component 6 ...... 10 Table 3.3: Bridge Arrangements – Component 6 ...... 12 Table 3.4: Subsurface Conditions – Component 6 ...... 15 Table 3.5: Financial Costs, USD millions (2010) ...... 20 Table 3.6: Capacity and Speed Relationship ...... 21 Table 3.7: Forecast Traffic, Vehicle/Day ...... 22 Table 3.8: Economic Analysis, Component 6, USD millions ...... 23 Table 3.9: Resettlement Budget Estimate Component 6 ...... 31 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Layout of scheme and components, showing extents of different components ...... 2 Figure 2: Layout of Component 6: My An to Cao Lanh with parallel route HCM Highway in yellow ...... 3 Figure 3: Alternate Route Alignments Component 6: My An to Cao Lanh (Preferred Option in Red) ...... 5 Figure 4: Embankment and Pavement Cross-Section – Stage 1 ...... 6 Figure 5: Final Embankment and Pavement Cross-Section – Stage 2 ...... 6 Figure 6: Modified Stage 1 Embankment and Pavement Cross-Section ...... 7 Figure 7: Bridge Cross Section – Stage 1 ...... 8 Figure 8: Bridge Cross Section – Stage 2 ...... 8 Figure 9: Load Mitigation Box for Soft Soil at Bridge Approaches...... 14 Figure 10: USAAF Air Strike Map for My Thuan Bridge Area...... 25 Figure 11: USAAF Air Strike Map for Cao Lanh Bridge Area...... 26 Figure 12: USAAF Air Strike Map for Vam Cong Bridge Area ...... 27

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CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS Currency Unit – Dong (VND) Viet Nam USD 1.00 = VND 19,000 ABBREVIATIONS AADT – Average Annual Daily Traffic ADB – Asian Development Bank COI – Corridor of Impact DP – Displaced Person DRVN – Directorate for Roads of Viet Nam (formerly VRA) EDCF – Economic Development Cooperation Fund (Korea) GMS – Greater Mekong Subregion EMP – Environmental Management Plan EMOP – Environmental Monitoring Plan GOVN – Government of Viet Nam GVW – Gross Vehicle Weight HATPP – HIV/AIDS and Human Trafficking Prevention Plan MOT – Ministry of Transport (Viet Nam) NH – National Highway p.a. – per annum PDOT – Provincial Department of Transport (Viet Nam) PMU-MT – Project Management Unit – My Thuan PR – Provincial Road QL – Quoc Lo (National Highway Viet Nam) ROW – Right of Way TL – Tinh Lo (Provincial Road Viet Nam) VDR – Viet Nam Directorate of Roads VEC – Viet Nam Expressway Corporation VRA – Viet Nam Road Administration WEIGHTS AND MEASURES Hectares – ha Metres – m Kilometres – km NOTES (i) The fiscal year (FY) of the Government of Viet Nam ends on 31 December. FY before a calendar year denotes the year in which the fiscal year ends, e.g., FY2011 ends on 31 December 2011

(ii) In this report, "$" refers to US dollars

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Source: ADB

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1 Introduction 1. Vietnam i s c urrently e xperiencing rapid e conomic g rowth, b ased p rimarily o n e xport p rocessing industries and tourism. Between 2003 and 2009 gross domestic product (GDP) grew by an average of 8% per year, while exports in the same period grew by an average of about 20%. The Mekong Delta region, where the proposed Project is located, is the third-largest industrial centre in the country after Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and Hanoi, and is based primarily on agro-industry and other light industries. Industrial production in the Mekong Delta region has accelerated in recent years, from an average annual growth rate of 13% in the period 2000–2004 to a growth rate of 24% in 2004–2005, and 25% to 2010.

2. As a result of this economic growth, road traffic is also growing rapidly and is a key constraint to future development. Between 2000 and 2009, for example, passenger traffic grew at an average rate of about 11% per year and freight traffic at an average rate of about 12%. The Government of Viet Nam is upgrading and expanding Vietnam’s strategic transport infrastructure – including the road network.

3. The ultimate project, shown in Table 1.1 and on the map in Figure 1 will improve connectivity in the Mekong Delta Region and provide efficient access from Ho Chi Minh City to the Southern Coastal Region through construction of high cable-stayed bridges across the Mekong River and associated roads:

Table 1.1: Central Mekong Delta Region Connectivity Project Components April 2010

Component Location Standard Lengths 1 Cao Lanh bridge and NH30 Interchange (km31+080) to Road 4 lanes. 7.8km approach roads interchange with PR849, Bridge 4 lanes and (bridge 2.1km) including interchange 2 lanes for two- wheelers 2 Cao Lanh – Vam From the end of Component 1 to 4 lanes 15.7km Cong Interconnecting NH54 interchange (but not road including that interchange 3 Vam Cong bridge and From (and including) NH54 Road 4 lanes. 5.8km approach roads interchange to start of road from Bridge 4 lanes and (bridge 2.9km) Lo Te to Rach Soi (Lo Te 2 lanes for two- interchange) wheelers 4 Long Xuyen bypass From PR943 junction to Thot Not 2 lanes 17.5km interchange (crossing and forming the Lo Te interchange) 5 Long Xuyen bypass From PR943 junction to NH91 2 lanes 5.7km extension 6 My An – Cao Lanh From My An town to NH30 4 lanes 26.9km connecting road interchange

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Figure 1: Layout of scheme and components, showing extents of different components 4. The ultimate project will improve connectivity in the Mekong Delta Region and provide efficient access from H o C hi Minh C ity to the Southern Coastal Region through c onstruction of h igh c able-stayed bridges across the Mekong River and associated roads:

(i) Component 1 – Cao Lanh Bridge (2.1km) and approach roads (5.7km); (ii) Component 2 – Interconnecting Road (15.7km); (iii) Component 3 – Vam Cong Bridge (2.9km) and approach roads (2.9km); (iv) Component 4 – Long Xuyen Bypass (17.5km); (v) Component 5 – Long Xuyen Bypass extension (5.7km); (vi) Component 6 – My An – Cao Lanh connecting road (26.9km).

5. This report provides a summary of Component 6 of the Project, My An – Cao Lanh connecting road (26.9km) as shown on the map in Figure 2.

6. The My An to Cao Lanh component of the project Feasibility Study has been completed by Bachkoa Engineering Consulting Company (BAECCO) and the Final Report has been submitted. The route alignment for Component 6 is 26.164 kilometres long and crosses 27 rivers, canals and ditches requiring 24 bridges. To provide the flexibility required to meet future traffic demand whilst keeping initial costs down, it will initially be built as a two-lane single carriageway. However, Component 6 will be designed to expressway standard and will have sufficient right of way to enable future expansion to dual carriageway expressway standard when required.

7. The route parallels the Ho Chi Minh Highway, which follows the provincial roads PR846 and PR847. The HCM Highway is currently being upgraded to a 12m wide carriageway with 3.5m wide lanes and 2m safety or slow traffic lanes near the shoulders. The route has schools, businesses, residential and farming adjacent to the road.

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Figure 2: Layout of Component 6: My An to Cao Lanh with parallel route HCM Highway in yellow

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2 The Project

2.1 Rationale 8. Viet Nam’s economy grew rapidly in recent years, based primarily on export processing industries and tourism. The Mekong Delta Region (the Delta) is the third-largest industrial centre in the country after Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and Hanoi, and its economy relies mainly on agro-industry and other light industries. The Delta is also known as the “rice-basket” of the country and contributes significantly to Viet Nam’s record rice exports making it a t op three world’s rice exporter.1 However, poverty remains high and the Delta is often prone to natural disasters. Rapidly growing traffic volumes and poor infrastructure remain key constraints to economic growth and development.

9. The t ransport n etwork i n t he D elta i s i n i ts e arly s tages o f d evelopment a nd i s c onstrained b y a n insufficient road network, extensive but slow inland waterways2 and fast growing road traffic volumes amid strong economic growth in recent years. A growing demand for an efficient transport network prompted the Government to set targets in its proposed 5-year Transport Development Plan 2011-20153 to transport 796 million tons or 64.2 billion ton-kilometre of goods, 3.15 billion passengers or 106.6 billion passenger-kilometre per year by roads alone. To achieve this, the 5-year plan aims to build, improve and upgrade about 3,000 kilometres (km) of roads and 44,600 meters (m) of road bridges. The National Highway 1A (NH1A), which runs along Viet Nam from north to south, located to the east of the Delta, is currently the only artery that gives uninterrupted r oad a ccess t o t he S outhern C oastal R egion. Reliance o n a s ingle a rtery w ill n ot e nable balanced development of a reliable primary road network for the Delta that can facilitate efficient land use supported by integrated development of secondary road and other infrastructure. This a lso constrains broader economic development.

10. The G overnment e mbarked o n t he E xpressways D evelopment P lan4 which i dentifies t he S econd Southern Highway (SSH) as a key road network artery for the development of the Delta. The SSH connects HCMC through the central Mekong Delta Region to the Southern Coastal Region and serves as an alternative to NH1A thus providing access to the south-western provinces. It also links to the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Southern Coastal Corridor at Rach Gia. The SSH is currently interrupted by ferry crossings at Cao Lanh and Vam Cong which are slow and of limited capacity.

2.2 Impact and Outcome 11. The expected impact of the Project will be improved road travel across and within the Central Mekong Delta interconnecting HCMC to the Southern Coastal Region and the GMS Southern Coastal Corridor. The expected outcome will be decreased road travel distances and increased average travel speeds across and within the Central Mekong Delta.

1 Mekong Delta produces about half of rice consumed in Vietnam and 80% of rice export, 40% of seafood and 50–60% of its seafood export. 2 Constitutes of two main arms of Mekong River and interlocking network of canals and rivers. 3 It is expected to be approved by the Government as part of the 5-year Development Plan of Viet Nam in early 2011. 4 Decision 1734/QD-TTg Approval of Viet Nam’s Expressways Development Plan up to 2020 and beyond.

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3 Technical Considerations

3.1 General 12. During pr eparation o f t he F easibility S tudy f or C omponent 6 o f t he C entral M ekong D elta R egion Connectivity Project, various meetings with BAECCO technical staff were undertaken by SMEC and a number of Interim Reports were submitted for review.

13. In general, the majority of items that would normally be examined during a Technical Due Diligence study were reviewed and discussed with BAECCO during preparation of the Feasibility Study. As such, SMEC has provided oversight and due diligence review throughout the preparation of the reports.

14. Following c ompletion o f the F inal F easibility S tudy R eport i n D ecember 2 010, S MEC u ndertook a technical review of the major components of the report. Comments on this technical review are provided in this Section of the report.

3.2 Route Alignment 15. During investigations for the Feasibility Study, BAECCO examined three alternate route alignments as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Alternate Route Alignments Component 6: My An to Cao Lanh (Preferred Option in Red) 16. The a rea traversed by the M y A n – Cao Lanh Connecting R oad has a h igh density of canals a nd interconnecting waterways. This makes the selection of any preferred route alignment difficult, as it requires a significant a mount of s tructures to c ross the inland w aterway s ystem. Some o f these s tructures are quite major bridges, such as the bridges that cross at Nguyen Van Thiep A and Duong Thet.

17. The alignment also impacts on these structures due t o the angle at which the r oute alignment intersects the canals and waterways. This has resulted in the majority of structures having high skew angles, requiring l onger s tructures t o b e d esigned a nd b uilt to a ccommodate t he g reater d istances n ecessary t o

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achieve the crossing. This r esults i n a higher cost for the b ridge s tructures that m ay o therwise b e s aved through the selection of a different alignment.

18. Another concern with the selected alignment is the “straightness” of the road itself. From a road safety perspective, long straight road sections are hazardous as they tend to encourage higher speeds and driver complacency. It is preferable if this can be avoided, or if sweeping bends and curves can be introduced into the alignment.

19. However, due to the complex nature of the inland waterway system within the vicinity of the My An – Cao Lanh Connecting Road, it may not be possible to adjust the route alignment to achieve cost savings with the structures and to increase the safety aspects of the roadway itself. Issues such as social, environmental and resettlement and availability of land for the route will have a fundamental effect on the selection of the preferred route.

3.3 Road Embankment 3.3.1 Cross-Section 20. Similar t o o ther c omponents o f t he C MDRCP, the r oad e mbankments a nd p avements w ill be constructed in a staged manner.

21. MoT advised that the width at the top of the embankment in Stage 1 s hall be 12m, allowing for 2 x 3.5m lanes and 2 x 2m bikes lane on the outside of the pavement. Stage 2 construction will duplicate the Stage 1 construction whilst also incorporating a 3m wide median between carriageways. The cross-section for Stage 1 is shown in Figure 4 and for Stage 2 in Figure 5.

Figure 4: Embankment and Pavement Cross-Section – Stage 1

Figure 5: Final Embankment and Pavement Cross-Section – Stage 2 22. During Stage 1 construction, the centreline of the road will be offset from the overall centreline. A minor change recommended by BAECCO from the cross-section shown in Figure 4 is to construct the outside edge of the embankment to 0.75m instead of 0.5m in Stage 1 to match the Stage 2 profile. SMEC agree with this recommendation. The modified Stage 1 cross-section is shown in Figure 6.

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Figure 6: Modified Stage 1 Embankment and Pavement Cross-Section 3.3.2 Pavements 23. The pavement designs have been undertaken in accordance with 22 TCN211-06 and comply with the requirements of that Standard.

24. The initial design of the pavements called for the inclusion of an asphalt surfacing for the S tage 1 roadways. In the Final Feasibility Study Report, BAECCO are recommending the use of a Class A2 structure which includes a bituminous chip, or sprayed, sealed surfacing instead of an asphaltic concrete surfacing.

25. SMEC agrees with this approach for the construction of the Stage 1 embankments and pavements. A significant amount of settlement will occur under the road embankments, as shown in the Feasibility Study reports, an d t his s ettlement w ill b e highly d etrimental to t he p erformance a nd l ongevity o f a n a sphaltic concrete surfacing.

26. Asphaltic concrete surfacing can be included on the pavement following completion of Stage 2 of the works, at which time it is anticipated that the majority of the primary consolidation and settlement will have occurred.

3.4 Bridges 3.4.1 General 27. The alignment crosses 27 canals, of which 24 are bridge crossings.

28. Of t he 2 4 br idges, 1 7 b ridges c arry t he a lignment o ver s mall t o m edium r ivers w ith a n avigation clearance of less than 15m while the remaining 6 bridges require a navigation clearance width of greater than 20m.

3.4.2 Typical Cross-sections 29. The bridges are to be constructed to cater for the Stage 1 cross-section with provision to be ultimately widened to accommodate the Stage 2 cross-section. The proposed staged cross-sections are shown below.

30. SMEC recommends the proposed s taging o f t he b ridge s tructures a s t his i s an o ptimum w ay t o construct the widened structure without unduly disrupting traffic in the future.

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Figure 7: Bridge Cross Section – Stage 1

Figure 8: Bridge Cross Section – Stage 2 3.4.3 Vertical and Horizontal Clearances 31. It is understood that the proposed clearances have been agreed to by the waterway management, the Inland Waterway and the People’s Committee of Dong Thap Province.

32. The M inistry of T ransport h as also commented on the clearances as per M oT N otice No. 271/TB- BGTVT dated 30/06/2010 and Vietnam inland water Department document No 971/CDTND-QLHT dated July 20, 2010.

33. The navigation clearances proposed are shown in the tables below and are considered appropriate given the approval of the government agencies.

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Table 3.1: Bridge Road Clearances – Component 6

No. Bridge name Station Underpass in the Underpass in the end beginning Elevation BxH (m) Elevation BxH (m) 1 Kenh Nhi Km01+019 +3.50 4.0x2.7 +3.50 4.0x2.7 2 Co Hai Km02+022 +2.85 4.0x2.5 +2.85 4.0x2.5 3 Kenh Nhat Km02+996 +3.50 4.0x2.7 +3.50 4.0x2.7 4 Canal 500 (4) Km03+630 +2.85 4.0x2.5 +2.85 4.0x2.5 5 Tu Moi Km05+185 +3.20 4.0x2.7 6 Ong Hai Km08+260 +3.70 4.0x2.7 +3.70 4.0x2.7 7 Nguyen Van Tiep A Km10+197 +3.70 4.0x2.7 +3.70 4.0x2.7 8 Cai Beo Km 14+206 +3.70 4.0x2.7 +3.50 4.0x2.5 9 Cai Tre Km 17+547 +3.30 4.0x2.7 +3.30 4.0x2.7 10 Dap Da Km 18+640 +2.90 4.0x2.5 +2.90 4.0x2.5 11 Duong Thet Km 19+487 +3.90 4.0x2.7 12 Tra Bong Km20+563 +2.85 4.0x2.5 13 Muong Trau Km21+302 +2.90 4.0x2.5 14 Xeo Xinh Km22+184 +3.20 4.0x2.7 +3.20 4.0x2.7 15 Rach Xop Km23+359 +3.50 4.0x2.7 +3.50 4.0x2.7 16 Can Lo Km24+068 +3.50 4.0x2.7 +3.50 4.0x2.7 17 An Binh Km24+781 +3.00 4.0x2.5 +3.00 4.0x2.5

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Table 3.2: Bridge Navigational Clearances – Component 6

No. Bridge Name Station Water Navigation Note level H5% clearance BxH (m) 1 Canal 500 Km00+345 +2.45 10x1,50 2 Kenh Nhi Km01+019 +2.47 15x2,50 Local water transport route 3 Canal 350 Km01+523 +2.45 10x1,50 4 Co Hai Km02+022 +2.46 10x1,50 5 Canal Giua 2 Km02+459 +2.46 10x1,50 6 Kenh Nhat Km02+996 +2.45 15x2,50 Local water transport route 7 Canal 500 (4) Km03+630 +2.47 10x1,50 Third-class waterway transport 8 Tu Moi Km05+185 +2.49 30 x 7,00 route, DT845 9 Ong Hai Km08+260 +2.47 20x2,50 Local water transport route Third-class waterway transport 10 Nguyen Van Tiep A Km10+197 +2.50 30 x 7,00 route, DT846 11 Cai Beo Km 14+206 +2.51 20x2,50 Local water transport route 12 Kenh Suon Km 15+027 +2.50 10x1,50 13 My Tay 1 Km 15+883 +2.51 10x1,50 14 My Tay 2 Km 16+887 +2.52 10x1,50 15 Cai Tre Km 17+547 +2.56 12x1,50 Local water transport route 16 Dap Da Km 18+640 +2.56 12x1,50 Local water transport route Local water transport route, 17 Duong Thet Km 19+487 +2.60 20 x 3,00 BT847 18 Km 19+838 +2.59 10x1,50 Doc Hang canal 19 Tra Bong Km20+563 +2.60 12x1,50 Local water transport route 20 Muong Trau Km21+302 +2.61 12x1,50 Local water transport route 21 Xeo Xinh Km22+184 +2.64 15x2,50 Local water transport route 22 Rach Xop Km23+359 +2.62 10x1,50 23 Can Lo Km24+068 +2.66 20x3,00 Local water transport route 24 An Binh Km24+781 +2.64 10x1,50

3.4.4 Bridge Design Solutions 34. The design report proposed the typical spans of 25, 30 and 50m spans for most bridges with a cast in situ box girder bridge (70m + 120m + 70m spans) built by balanced cantilever construction. The typical spans are all intended to be constructed using precast prestressed reinforced concrete beams with a c ast in-situ reinforced concrete top slab.

35. The following type of bridge beams are proposed:

• Precast pr e-tensioned reinforced c oncrete S uper-T gi rders ar e p roposed f or spans be tween 35m and 40m;

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• Pre-stressed reinforced concrete I – girders are proposed for spans between 20m to 35m; and

• Pre-stressed reinforced concrete hollow slab are proposed for spans less than 20m.

36. Abutments a re t ypically p roposed t o reinforced c oncrete a butments s upported o n p iles. P iers proposed are solid blade type reinforced concrete piers with rounded ends to minimise turbulence in the river flow.

37. Bridge foundations proposed comprise typically:

• 450mm square precast reinforced concrete driven piles for bridges where estimated pile lengths are less than 45m;

• 1200mm diameter bored piles where estimated pile lengths are greater than 45m or the piles are located adjacent to or near a residential area; and

• 1500mm diameter bored piles for the Can Lo, An Binh and main spans of Nguyen Van Tiep A bridges to cater for either very weak soils or the large loadings expected.

38. SMEC have r eviewed t he f oundation c onditions an d c oncur w ith t he d esign r eport t hat t his i s t he optimum foundation solution.

39. The proposed span arrangements and solutions are shown in the table below. SMEC have reviewed the proposed span arrangements and concur that the proposed span arrangements are adequate. The spans have typically been arranged to maximise the u se o f standard spans w hich w ould h elp in m inimising the construction costs of the project.

40. At detailed design, SMEC recommends that consideration be given to the following items:

• Reducing the skew angle of the piers as some of the bridges are heavily skewed. This would require special attention to detailing during detailed design and it would be prudent if some of these difficulties could be minimised during the design stage;

• Avoid the use of half joints (notched beams) to avoid the occurrence of cracking in the corner of the notches. This form of construction is banned in Australia and most developed markets for this reason; and

• Maximising precasting by considering the use of Super T beams (of smaller depth) for shorter spans instead of I girders. S uper T beams are structurally more efficient and possess better aesthetics than I girders. T herefore, if there is an advantage in maximising the precasting of this type of beams, there may be potential to reduce construction costs on this project.

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Table 3.3: Bridge Arrangements – Component 6

No. Bridge name Station Skew Navigation Underpass Span Length Superstructure Substructure (km) (°) clearance clearance arrangement (m) (m) (m) 1 Canal 500(3) 0+345.4 40 10x1.5 1x25 26.72 Pre-stressed I-girder RC driven pile 45x45cm foundation, 20 piles, Ld= 45m 2 Kenh Nhi 1+019.2 35 15x2.5 4x2.7 2x25+20+25+ 166.76 Pre-stressed I-girder, RC driven pile 45x45cm foundation, abut. 20 20+2x25 Hollow slab piles, pier 15 piles, Ld= 45m 3 Canal 350 1+523.5 35 10x1.5 1x25 26.66 Pre-stressed I-girder RC driven pile 45x45cm foundation, 20 piles, Ld= 45m 4 Canal Co Hai 2+022.2 40 10x1.5 4x2.5 4+25+4 38.22 Pre-stressed I-girder, RC driven pile 45x45cm foundation, 28 piles, Box abutment Ld= 40m 5 Giua2 Canal 2+459.5 50 10x1.5 1x25 27.35 Pre-stressed I-girder RC driven pile 45x45cm foundation, 20 piles, Ld= 40m 6 Kenh Nhat 2+996.0 35 15x2.5 4x2.7 2x25+15+25+ 156.76 Pre-stressed I-girder, RC driven pile 45x45cm foundation abut. 20 15+2x25 Hollow slab piles, pier 15 piles, Ld= 40m. 7 Canal 500(4) 3+630.0 15 10x1.5 4x2.5 4+25+4 35.10 Pre-stressed I-girder, RC driven pile 45x45cm foundation, 28 piles, Box abutment Ld= 45m. 8 Tu Mai 5+185.4 25 30x7 9x4.5 11x40 441.65 Super-T girder RC driven pile 45x45cm foundation abut. 24 4x2.7 piles, pier 24 piles, pier underwater 32 piles, Ld= 35m. 9 Ong Hai Canal 8+260.5 30 20x2.5 4x2.7 2x25+15+25+ 156.62 Pre-stressed I-girder, RC driven pile 45x45cm foundation abut. 20 15+2x25 Hollow slab piles, pier 15 piles, Ld= 35m. 10 Nguyen Van 10+169.9 62 30x7 4x2.7 4x40+65+100 551.60 Box continuous girder + RC driven pile 45x45cm foundation 24 piles Tiep A +65+4x40 Super-T girder for for approach abut. And piers, Ld= 40m. Bored approach road pile foundation D=1.5m, main piers 16 piles, side piers 6 piles. 11 Cai Beo 14+206.0 30 20x2.5 4x2.7 2x33+20+33+ 173.44 Pre-stressed I-girder, RC driven pile 45x45cm foundation abut. 21 20+33 Hollow slab piles, pier 18 piles, Ld=35m.

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No. Bridge name Station Skew Navigation Underpass Span Length Superstructure Substructure (km) (°) clearance clearance arrangement (m) (m) (m) 12 Kenh Suon 15+026.7 30 10x1.5 1x25 26.50 Pre-stressed I-girder RC driven pile 45x45cm foundation, 20 piles, Ld= 32m. 13 My Tay 1 15+822.7 50 10x1.5 1x25 27.35 Pre-stressed I-girder RC driven pile 45x45cm foundation, 20 piles, Ld= 35m. 14 My Tay 2 16+887.1 50 10x1.5 3x25 76.71 Pre-stressed I-girder RC driven pile 45x45cm foundation abut. 20 piles, pier 15 piles, Ld=35m. 15 Cai Tre 17+547.1 40 12x1.5 4x2.7 2x25+15+25+ 156.82 Pre-stressed I-girder, RC driven pile 45x45cm foundation abut. 20 piles, 15+2x25 Hollow slab pier 15 piles, Ld=40m. 16 Dap Da 18+640.5 45 12x1.5 4x2.5 2x25+15+25+ 156.84 Pre-stressed I-girder, RC driven pile 45x45cm foundation abut. 20 piles, 15+2x25 Hollow slab pier 15 piles, Ld=40m. 17 Duong Thet 19+540.4 35 20x3 9x4.75 11x40+2x35+ 537.07 Super-T+ Pre-stressed I- Bored pile foundation D=1.2m, 6 piles for abut. 4x2.7 25 girder And side piers, 9 piles for piers underwater, Ld= 56m. 18 Tra Bong 20+563.1 25 12x1.5 4x2.5 4+25+4 36.30 Pre-stressed I-girder, Box Bored pile foundation D=1.2m, 5 piles, Ld= 55m. abutment 19 Muong Trau 21+301.6 0 12x1.5 4x2.5 4+25+4 35.10 Pre-stressed I-girder, Box Bored pile foundation D=1.2m, 5 piles, Ld= 55m. abutment 20 Xeo Xinh 22+184.0 60 15x2.5 4x2.7 4+3x33+4 119.60 Pre-stressed I-girder, Box Bored pile foundation D=1.2m, abut. 5 piles, pier 4 abutment piles, Ld= 55m. 21 Rach Xop 23+359.5 60 10x1.5 4x2.7 4+25+33+25+ 103.60 Pre-stressed I-girder, Box Bored pile foundation D=1.2m, abut. 5 piles, pier 4 4 abutment piles, Ld= 55m. 22 Can Lo 24+068.0 0 20x3 4x2.7 7x40 281.30 Super-T girder Bored pile foundation D=1.5m, approach abutments and piers 4 piles, piers underwater 6 piles, Ld= 65m. 23 An Binh 24+780.8 0 10x1.5 4x2.5 4+25+4 35.10 Pre-stressed I-girder, Box Bored pile foundation D=1.5m, 4 piles, Ld= 70m. abutment

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3.4.5 Design Standards 41. The d esign report p roposes t hat a ll b ridges b e d esigned i n a ccordance w ith V ietnam D esign Specification 22TCN272-05, TCVN 2737-1995, TCXDVN373-2006 and Article 3.12.3 of Specification 22 TCN 272-01.

42. SMEC has reviewed the above standards and the design report and concur with the recommendations and proposals of the design standards and factors to be used in the detail design of this project.

3.4.6 Treatment of Bridge Approaches - Load Mitigation Box 43. SMEC has reviewed the design report proposal for an innovative treatment o f the bridge approach area b y u sing a r einforced c oncrete p iled s tructure known a s a “ load m itigation b ox”. The l ayout o f t he proposed load mitigation box is shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9: Load Mitigation Box for Soft Soil at Bridge Approaches 44. SMEC h as no c omment on the s tructural design o f the l oad mitigation b ox. However, SEMC has identified the following items that require detailed consideration before this proposal can be recommended for consideration in detail design:

• The m ain r eason w hy l oad m itigation s labs f ail i s t hat t here i s i nsufficient ge otechnical investigation carried out, inadequate design and haste in construction -as p ointed out by the design r eport. T herefore, w e d o no t s ee h ow t his p roposed s olution a ddress t he p rimary causes of failure of such solutions? We are of the opinion that the answer to this problem is to address t he i ssues r aised a bove – improve t he i nformation o btained f rom the g eotechnical investigation, increase the time and cost spent on developing the design of the load mitigation slab and in ensuring careful and controlled construction.

• One edge of the load mitigation box is supported on the abutments. This imposes an additional load which is not normally carried by the abutment. This load will apply not only a vertical load but a lso a r otational l oad t o the a butment. T his w ill i nduce m oments i n the p iles of t he abutments. Where precast driven piles are provided, these piles would be extremely unlikely to be able to accommodate the imposed moments.

• Given t he s tiffness o f the b ox, it a ppears d ifficult to u nderstand ho w a n a ssumption o f unsupported length was ascertained (See Volume 9 – Special Report for Load Mitigation Box, Figure 15). T he determination of this unsupported length has a significant effect on the load that is transmitted to the abutment and also that is carried by the box.

• Given the “rigid” support provided by the edge resting on the abutment, any rotation of the box will manifest as an opening of the gap between the back of the abutment and the wall of the box. T his rotation acts over the height of the fill. T herefore, a settlement of 50mm at the far end of the box (away from the abutment) will result in an opening at the back of the abutment of 14mm.

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• How would ingress of water and debris into the opening be prevented and durability ensured?

• How will inspection and access of the voids to the box be provided to ensure durability?

3.5 Geotechnical 3.5.1 Available Information 45. A due diligence geotechnical review has been undertaken for Component 6 of the Central Mekong Delta Region Connectivity project and the findings are summarised below. The information made available for this review includes:

• The Central Mekong Delta Region Connectivity project- Feasibility Study - Component 6: My An - Cao Lanh connecting road - Final report.

• The C entral M ekong D elta R egion C onnectivity P roject- Component 6: M y A n - Cao L anh Connecting Road - Basic Design and Feasibility Study - Final Report.

- Volume 1: Main Text (November 2010). - Volume 2.2: Detail Cross Section of Stage 1 (November 2010). - Volume 2.3: Detail Cross Section of Complete Stage (November 2010). - Volume 4.1: Softsoil Treatment Design Report (November 2010). - Volume 4.2: Softsoil Treatment Design Report (November 2010). 3.5.2 Site Characterisation a. Summary of Subsurface Conditions

46. The soil profile can be broadly divided into two main categories based on the deposition period. The upper soil layers consist of weaker marine formation deposited during the Holocene Period. The Holocene deposits consist of very soft high plasticity fluvial marine clay, interbedded sand-clay fluvial marine deposit and sand sediment overlaying the hard Pleistocene clay at approximately 45-49m below the ground level.

47. For the design p urpose, the s ubsurface of the r oad a lignment have b een b roadly divided i nto five layers based on their engineering properties, as shown below.

Table 3.4: Subsurface Conditions – Component 6

Soil Classification Description

Backfill (CH) Approximately 0.5m-1.0m in thickness. Soft to stiff high plasticity clay.

Layer 1 (CH) Approximately 4.3m-48.5m in thickness. Very soft high plasticity clay with liquidity index (LI) of approximately 1.

Layer 1b (SM) Approximately 4.7m-23.9m in thickness. Loose silty Sand.

Layer 1C (CL) Approximately 15.5m-26.5m in thickness. Soft low plasticity clay with liquidity index (LI) of approximately 1.

Layer 2 (CL) Low plasticity very clayey Sand.

b. In-situ Undrained Shear Strength, Cu

48. The adopted in-situ undrained shear strength profile is lower than that based on a typical correlation for normally consolidated clay i.e. 0.20σv' - 0.25σv', where σv' is the effective overburden stress. It is also lower

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than t hat b ased o n t he S kempton's (1970) c orrelation f or n ormally c onsolidated c lay ( i.e. C u/σv' = 0.11+0.0037IP, where the average plasticity index Ip = 28.8%). The adopted in-situ undrained shear strength profile a ppears t o b e c onsistent w ith Man's ( 2003) f indings. M an ( 2003) had c ompiled o ver t hirty s oil investigation reports for various sites in Mekong Delta and reported that the OCR was decreasing with depth with most OCR values less than unity. It is noteworthy to mention that Man (2003) h as attributed sample disturbance as the cause of his observation. Takemura et al. (2007) conducted site characterisation of alluvial deposits i n M ekong D elta w here t he s oft s oil s amples were r etrieved u sing t hin-wall s tationary p iston samplers and thin-wall Shelby tube samplers. He reported that the in-situ undrained shear strength was very sensitive to the sample disturbance and the undrained shear strength of “disturbed clay” was less than 0.20σv' - 0.25σv'. On the other hand, the undrained shear strength obtained from undisturbed samples was consistent with typical correlations (i.e. 0.20σv' - 0.25σv').

49. It is commonly recognised that the in-situ testing would give more realistic strength parameters than the laboratory testing. CPT or CPTu are often used to derive the continuous undrained shear strength profile in soft soils. Field vane shear test should also be used to calibrate the data obtained from CPT or CPTu. The use of underestimated undrained shear strength values would lead to an over-conservative design.

c. Compressibility Parameters

50. Oedometer tests have been used to derive the compressibility parameters. Some tests appeared to be conducted ov er l imited s tress r anges (200kPa - 400kPa) without t he u nloading c ycles. A s a r esult, t he compression i ndices derived from these test results c ould not be distinguished between the n ormally and overly consolidated ranges. Due to the potential sample disturbance, it is recommended that the compression indices be corrected to obtain more realistic values, such as using the Schmertmann's (1955) method.

51. Takemura et al. (2007) observed that the compressibility parameters of alluvial deposits in Mekong Delta w ere ex tremely s ensitive t o the s ampling m ethods. Takemura e t a l. ( 2007) r eported t hat t he o pen sampling w ith S helby t ube w as a c ommon m ethod u sed i n V ietnam t o r etrieve r elatively d eep soft s oils. Because of sample disturbance and the complicated formation process of alluvial deposits in the delta region, Man (2003) reported that the soil samples often exhibited large recompression under the existing effective overburden stress when tested in laboratory.

52. As such, thin-wall stationary piston sampler such as thin-walled JFP was recommended to obtain the deep s oft s oil s amples t o m inimise s ample d isturbance. P ublished l iteratures ( e.g. T akemura 2 007, T ing 2002) i ndicate t hat s amples r etrieved u sing a p iston s ampler s how a m uch l ower d egree o f d isturbance compared to a Shelby tube.

3.5.3 Soft Ground Creep Behaviour 53. The settlement calculation does not appear to include the long term creep settlement, which would occur over a long period of time well beyond the completion of the consolidation settlement. Consolidation theory indicates that any change in void ratio is due to a change in effective stress arising from the dissipation of excess p ore w ater pressure. T his p rocess i s time dependent a nd i s r elated to the p ermeability o f soil. However, experimental results show that compression does not cease when the excess pore water pressure has fully dissipated and continues at a gradually decreasing rate under a c onstant effective stress. Ignoring this component of settlement will lead to significant underestimation of post-construction settlement.

54. Creep settlement c an b e calculated from the creep index, Cαe. Creep i ndex can b e correlated w ith various s oil p roperties s uch a s m oisture c ontent (e.g. M esri, 1 973), c ompression index, Cce (e.g. M esri & Godlewski, 1977) or plasticity index (e.g. Nakase et. al., 1988) of the ground. Based on the typical correlation with the compression index (i.e. Cαe = 0.05×Cce, where Cce = 0.65/(1+e0) and e0 = 1.7 were assumed in the design c alculations), the estimated 1 5 years creep settlement for the 2 5m thick soft clay i s approximately 350mm. Heavy surcharge to over-consolidate the ground could be used to reduce the post-construction creep settlement (e.g. Stewart et al. 1994).

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55. As the creep settlement has not been included in the post-construction settlement calculations, the predicted settlement is expected to be underestimated.

3.5.4 Post Construction Settlement Prediction 56. The s ite i nvestigation i ndicates v ariable s oft c lay t hicknesses. T he p roposed p refabricated v ertical drains (PVDs) and Sand drains (SDs) do not penetrate the full depth of the soft clay. As a result, there exists greater variability of post-construction total and differential settlements.

57. Based on our independent finite element assessment, approximately 65% of the additional stress from the r oad e mbankment e xtends 2 5m b elow t he gr ound l evel. T his i ncrease i n stress will t rigger lo ng-term consolidation settlement if the soil is left untreated.

58. The radial consolidation has been calculated using Barron's (1948) method. The effects of smear (Fs) and well resistance (Fr) have been separately added to this method. The adopted formula differs from the widely acceptable Hansbo (1981) method and is unconventional.

59. The post-construction settlement has been calculated using the modified Carillo's (1942) formula to account for the effect of the untreated zone below the PVDs/SDs. This approach is unconventional and is theoretically unsound.

60. Based on our independent finite element assessment using the reported parameters, the estimated 15 years post-construction settlement f or chainage Km+200 to Km+231.07 i s in the range o f 523-629mm (including c reep s ettlement). T his is m uch h igher t han t he p redicted v alue o f 1 84mm. O ur a ssessment indicates that approximately 35%-54% of the PCS is contributed by the creep settlement (assuming C αe = 0.05×Cce).

3.5.5 Bridge Approach Embankments a. Load Mitigation Slab (LMS)

61. Load M itigation S lab ( LMS) i s p roposed a s t he t ransition t reatment a t t he b ridge a pproach embankment. This design relies on t he RC slab supported on piles with varying length to reduce the differential settlement between the b ridge abutment and the g eneral embankment. In o rder to provide a n effective transition treatment between the bridge approach and the general embankment, it is important that the design considers a transition treatment between the end of LMS and the general embankment.

b. Load Mitigation Box (LMB)

62. Load M itigation B ox ( LMB) i s p roposed as t he t ransition t reatment a t the br idge a pproach embankment. T he d esign r elies on t he r einforced c oncrete b ox c ulvert (approximately 2 0m i n l ength) t o reduce the differential settlement between the bridge abutment and the general embankment. By supporting one end (the “close” end) the LMB on the bridge abutment, the LMB would provide a smooth transition at the bridge approach embankment. However, the above arrangement did not address the transition between the LMB and the general embankment. Because the LMB is 3 - 4 times lighter than earth fill, it is expected that the magnitude of the post-construction settlement (PCS) experienced by the “far” end of LMB will be different than that of the general embankment (which will be subjected to full embankment loading). In order to provide an effective transition treatment between the bridge approach and the general embankment, it is important that the design considers a transition treatment between the end of LMB and the general embankment.

63. For LMB (concrete box culvert) constructed at low lying Mekong River Delta, it is important that the design considers the effect of buoyancy of the structure. The system needs to have adequate self-weight to overcome the uplift force in the event of flooding. Furthermore, the weight of water within the boxes during flooding should also be taken into consideration in the design, if applicable.

64. It should also be noted that unacceptable differential settlement of the LMB may cause damage to the structure and hence reduce the life of the structure.

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c. Sand Drain

65. Installation of sand drains in soft and sensitive clays could reduce the undrained shear strength and horizontal permeability of the ground due to the disturbance effect (Casagrande a nd Poulos, 1 969). In addition, published literatures (e.g. Akagi 1977) show that high excess pore pressure is generated during the installation of displacement type sand drains and strength gains are achieved after the dissipation of excess pore p ressure. I n a rea w here s and dr ains a re t o be u sed t o a ccelerate the c onsolidation p rocess, i t i s important that the design considers the effects of ground disturbance.

d. Alternative Transition Treatment Options

66. Alternatively, a number of other options can be considered. These options have been widely used at bridge approach embankment on soft ground with great success (e.g. Hsi 2007).

• Option 1: F or an e mbankment immediately adjacent to a bridge, use full depth piles to fully support t he e mbankment s o t hat no s ettlement w ould o ccur w ithin t his s ection of t he embankment. The soft ground next to the piled embankment can then be treated with closely spaced prefabricated vertical drain (PVD) and heavy surcharge in an attempt to reduce the long term p ost-construction c reep s ettlement. O nce t he s urcharging i s c ompleted, r emove t he surcharge a nd p art o f t he e mbankment a nd c onstruct a ge otextile r einforced r ock m attress across t he i nterface b etween t he p iled a nd n on-piled e mbankment. P avement i s then constructed over t his rock mattress which would function a s a bridging layer to transition differential settlements in a smooth manner.

• Option 2: C onstruct full depth piles to support the embankment i mmediately a djacent to the bridge abutment. Beyond the far end of the full depth piles, further piles which are shortened and spaced out can be used to allow some settlement in the long term. For this option the pile arrangement and depths need to be articulated so that the differential settlement criterion can be met. As such detailed subsurface conditions are required for the design of this option.

• Option 3: Use full depth piles to support the embankment immediately adjacent to the bridge abutment. Next to the piled area, use stone columns to partially support the embankment and allow some long term settlement. Beyond the stone column treated area, use sand piles or PVD with surcharging to allow greater long term settlement than the stone column area. This option would allow the settlement to be smoothly transitioned through the piles, stone columns and sand piles/PVD to the general embankment.

• Option 4: Use heavy surcharge to over-consolidate the ground. PVD can be used to accelerate the r ate o f s ettlement. G eotextile c an b e used t o i ncrease t he s tability o f t he e mbankment. Once the surcharging is completed, remove the surcharge and replace part of the embankment with light weight bottom ash (with unit weight of approximately 12kN/m3). Light weight bottom ash could be used in combination with above mentioned options.

67. Bridge approach relieving slab (6m - 8m in length, supported by the abutment at one end and the embankment at the other) can be incorporated with the above options to achieve a smooth transition between the abutment and embankment.

3.5.6 Culverts 68. The p roposed c ulverts a re u nderlain b y t hick h igh p lasticity c lay (CH) w ith a l iquidity i ndex ( LI) o f approximately 1. The liquidity index of alluvial deposits in Mekong Delta has been reported to be greater than unity (e.g. Takemura et al. 2007). It is noted that the high compressible soft clay has a higher liquidity index than the stiff competent of the ground. Culverts constructed over very soft ground have a risk of experiencing large total a nd d ifferential settlements d ue to l ow undrained s hear strength and high compressibility. T he settlement may continue after the completion of construction until all excess pore pressure has dissipated. In addition, large creep settlement may continue throughout the design life of the structure.

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69. If these settlements become excessive, the structure of the culvert may exceed its strength/capacity, leading to cracking, deformation, joint opening or reduction in drainage capacity. The culvert therefore needs to b e d esigned t o m eet t he s ettlement c riteria. T he f ollowing a re p ossible op tions for c ulvert f oundation treatment.

• Option 1: Heavily surcharge the culvert site prior to the construction of the culvert to eliminate residual c onsolidation s ettlement an d t o r educe t he l ong-term c reep settlement. U pon completion of the surcharging, remove fill to the culvert base level to allow the construction of the culvert. As the ground below the culvert has been surcharged, the settlement of the culvert will be r educed. T he applicability o f this o ption d epends o n i f the ground can b e effectively surcharged to achieve an outcome where the long term settlement criteria for the culvert can be met.

• Option 2 : W hen s urcharging c annot a chieve t he r equired s ettlement c riteria, p iles a re commonly used to fully support the culvert. In this case a transition treatment for the adjacent embankment w ill b e r equired t o a chieve t he t otal an d d ifferential s ettlement c riteria. T he transition t reatment c an be s imilar t o t hat f or a br idge a pproach e mbankment a s d escribed above.

70. It appears that different post-construction settlement criteria have been adopted for the culvert (20cm in 20 years) and the approach embankment adjacent to the culvert (20cm in 15 years). This could affect road safety a nd r ideability du e to d ifferential s ettlement. L ocal i ntervention may be r equired to r educe a ny differential settlement.

3.5.7 Piles Foundation a. Negative Skin Friction

71. For piles constructed in the soft ground, it is important that the design considers the effects of negative skin friction and down drag movement of the piles caused by the settling soil. It is recommended that the structural integrity of the pile be examined against the sum of dead load and negative skin friction and the pile settlement checked to ensure that the pile will not settle more than the acceptable value.

b. Steel Casing for Bored Pile Construction

72. Steel casing will be used as the ground support for the bored pile construction. Appropriate reduction in the shaft friction should be considered if the steel casing is to be left in the ground permanently.

c. Raked Piles

73. Raked piles are not suitable for settling ground which would induce additional stresses and bending moments in the pile. Options to overcome this problem may include:

• Option 1: S urcharging the b ridge abutment site prior to the installation of the raked p iles to minimise long term settlement. The raked piles are only installed after the surcharging is completed. This option is applicable only if the long term ground settlement can be eliminated by the surcharging.

• Option 2: Replace raked piles with vertical piles and arrange the vertical piles to carry the loads (vertical and horizontal) from the abutment.

• Option 3: Fully support the fill adjacent to the raked piles with piles so that the ground does not settle around the raked piles.

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3.6 Economic 74. Component 6 exceeds the criterion of 12%pa economic internal rate of return (EIRR). The main source of benefit is faster travel on slightly shorter roads. Another source of benefit might be accident cost savings. The project will reduce the number of accidents due to the route being limited-access with a raised median, and also by being shorter. On the other hand, the severity of accidents that do occur will be greater due to higher travel speeds and steep side slopes causing vehicles that run off the road to roll over. Vehicles can be restrained by side barriers. In Viet Nam these are provided where the embankment is high, but even low embankments tend to cause roll-over unless the side slope is no more than 1:4. It is difficult to judge whether the project will lower or raise the overall cost of accidents and there is insufficient information on accident rates, severity and causes to investigate.

75. The EIRR for Component 6 is 21.4%pa. NPV at year 2019 is USD 177.5 million, discounted at 12%pa.

76. The costs of the Project investment are tabulated below. These are financial costs. Construction cost includes d etailed design and construction supervision. A physical contingency is added. No financial contingency i s i ncluded b ecause t he e conomic e valuation u ses c onstant 2 010 m oney v alues. The construction cost and the physical contingency are multiplied by 0.85, the standard conversion factor (SCF), to c onvert d omestic p rices t o b order p rices f or u se i n t he ec onomic e valuation. The c ost o f l and a nd resettlement is not subject to the SCF adjustment.

Table 3.5: Financial Costs, USD millions (2010)

No. Component Item $ millions 6 My An-Cao Lanh Construction 126.6 Physical Contingency 13.6 Land & Resettlement 14.0 154.3 Source: SMEC Economic Specialist 3.6.1 Operations and Maintenance 77. The following amounts are allowed for maintenance of roads and small bridges:

Routine maintenance USD 1,800/km annually Periodic maintenance USD 30,000/km 5 and 10 years after construction/rehabilitation Rehabilitation USD 75,000/km 15 years after construction/rehabilitation

78. Maintenance has an insignificant effect on the economics. Omitting maintenance altogether increases the EIRR by less than 0.1%pa.

3.6.2 Vehicle Operating Costs 79. Vehicle operating costs (VOCs) are calculated using the HDM-4 VOC model. The outputs are in 2009 dollars, w hich a re e scalated b y 6 .1% t o p roduce 2 010 v alues. Unit c osts i n USD/vehicle-kilometre w ere computed for travel speeds ranging from 20 to 85 km/h. Traffic conditions were characterised by car speed. Buses are assumed to travel at the same speed as cars, but trucks are slower and motorcycles are slower still.

80. The time-related costs in USD/vehicle-hour depend on the split between travel for work/business and travel for other (private) purposes. For working people, time cost is the wage cost plus overhead. The cost of time for a person who is not working is taken to be one-quarter of the time cost when working.

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81. This Project and s imilar projects in the M ekong Delta have carried out interview surveys which measured the proportions of people travelling on work/business or for private purposes. From the amalgam of information it is concluded that work/business trips account for 10% of trips by motorcycle users and 30% for o ther t ravellers. Likewise, 1 0% o f m otorcycles a nd 3 0% of c ars are e ngaged o n w ork/business a nd, accordingly, 10% and 30% of their depreciation and opportunity costs are tallied in the VOCs.

3.6.3 Capacity and Traffic Forecasting 82. Road c apacities a re c alculated f rom f igures per l ane, i n P CU/hour, f ound i n N ational H ighway Standard TCVN4054:2005. Conversion to PCU/day for a two-way road requires application of a peak hour factor (PHF) which from extensive surveys conducted in September 2009 was found to be 6.4% for traffic in one direction. (Mekong Delta traffic flow is unlike flows in Western countries where traffic has strong peaks at the beginning and end of the day.) The results are as follows:

Capacity in both directions, PCU/day

(a) 90,000 2+2 lanesmedian & separate lanes for slow traffic separated by a barrier

(b) 80,000 2+2 lanesmedian barrier

(c) 60,000 2+2 lanesno barriers

(d) 30,000 1+1 lanes.

83. Vehicle speed is determined by road capacity and the amount of traffic the road is carrying at that time. As traffic increases, vehicles interact with each other and there are progressively fewer passing opportunities until a point is reached where passing is impractical. The HDM-4 documentation calls this ‘nominal capacity’. The road can still carry more traffic but all vehicles move together at the same speed until ‘ultimate capacity’ is reached.

84. For four-lane roads, the HDM-4 documentation suggests that the ‘shoulder’ of the speed - flow curve, at which speeds start to diminish due to interaction, is at about 40% of the road’s capacity. For wide two-lane roads it is 20%. The economic analysis uses the figures in Table 3.6. If traffic exceeds capacity the analysis assumes the travel speed does not diminish further. It remains constant at the speed at capacity.

Table 3.6: Capacity and Speed Relationship

Four-lane road Two-lane road

Road capacity PCU/day 80,000 30,000

Speed at capacity km/h 40 20

Flow rate at shoulder PCU/day 30,000 5,000

Car speed at shoulder km/h 85 70

85. Traffic forecasting, in PCUs, was undertaken using the STRADA model. Traffic surveys of origins and destinations p rovided t he d ata t o c reate 2 009 o rigin-destination ( OD) t ables f or f our v ehicle types: motorcycle, c ar, b us a nd t ruck. Forecasts o f p rovincial p opulation an d G DP w ere extracted f rom provincial yearbooks and used to derive growth factors to produce trip tables for future years.

86. As standard of living rises, a gradual shift from motorcycle ownership to car ownership is anticipated and incorporated into the analysis. From 2014 to 2033 the ratio of motorcycles per car diminishes from 6.6 to 3.6.

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87. STRADA did not model generated traffic since a fixed trip matrix was used. In other words, by vehicle type, t he n umbers of t rips be tween e ach O D p air d o n ot c hange w hen t he n etwork c hanges. Network changes between the without-project and with-project cases result in traffic diversion.

Table 3.7: Forecast Traffic, Vehicle/Day With-project My An - Cao Lanh Interconnecting Road

Year Motorcycle Car Bus Truck Total

2015 12069 1180 1090 2716 17054

2020 15424 1500 1400 3678 22002

2025 18755 2122 1807 4685 27369

2030 21759 2478 2051 5514 31802

2035 26513 3173 2533 6983 39202

Without-project My An - Cao Lanh Interconnecting Road

Year Motorcycle Car Bus Truck Total

2015 7307 632 477 974 9390

2020 13840 948 667 1404 16859

2025 18540 1276 884 1860 22560

2030 16627 1474 1085 2262 21448

2035 21869 1955 1427 2996 28246

3.6.4 Sensitivity Analysis 88. The economic analysis assumes a three year construction period with Component 6 opening in 2019. The Project evaluation period is 2019 to 2039. A residual value is credited in 2039 calculated as all land and resettlement costs and half the construction c ost. The analysis u ses the economic costs d erived above. Construction costs for the Project are converted to economic costs by applying an SCF of 0.85. Where costs were derived in 2009 values the economic analysis inflates them by 6.1% to 2010 values.

89. The Project EIRR is 21.4%pa. NPV at year 2019 is USD 177.5 million, discounted at 12%pa. The details are shown in Table 3.8.

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Table 3.8: Economic Analysis, Component 6, USD millions

Year Project capital Road maintenance Road use Net savings cost savings 2016 -44.4 -44.4 2017 -44.4 -44.4 2018 -44.4 -44.4 2019 0.0 24.9 24.9 2020 -0.2 27.3 27.1 2021 -0.4 29.6 29.3 2022 -0.5 32.0 31.5 2023 -0.7 34.4 33.7 2024 -0.8 36.7 35.9 2025 -0.8 39.1 38.2 2026 -0.8 42.7 41.9 2027 -0.8 46.4 45.6 2028 -0.8 50.1 49.2 2029 -0.8 53.7 52.9 2030 -1.1 57.4 56.3 2031 -1.3 58.6 57.3 2032 -1.5 59.8 58.3 2033 -1.8 61.0 59.2 2034 -2.0 62.2 60.2 2035 -1.8 63.4 61.6 2036 -1.5 64.6 63.1 2037 -1.3 65.8 64.5 2038 -1.1 67.0 65.9 2039 73.6 -0.8 68.2 141.0 NPV (2019) 177.5 EIRR 21.4%

90. At the criterion rate of 12% pa the Project is still viable even if the Project capital cost is 96% more than estimated. In terms of road user costs, to fail the 12% pa test these benefits would need to be at least 49% lower t han e stimated. If t he c onstruction pe riod e xtends be yond t hree y ears, t he E IRR a nd N PV both decrease.

Construction Duration 3 years 4 years 5 years

EIRR, % pa 21.4 20.7 20.0

NPV at 2016, $M 177.5 161.3 145.1

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91. The effect of simultaneously varying input values was investigated using @RISK. This program allows input n umbers to b e g iven probability distributions. Values are chosen at r andom, m any times, from the probability distributions. A frequency distribution is built up for the output variable of interest, which in this case is EIRR. The EIRR values ranged from 14.4% pa to 28.1% pa.

92. There i s a 0% c hance of failing to meet the 1 2% pa r ate of r eturn criterion. There i s o nly a 0.7% chance of the EIRR falling below 16%.

93. An input value with considerable uncertainty is oil price. R ecent history shows it can rise sharply in response to short term market forces. Long term, oil price could decline in the face of a glut of gas trapped in vast tracts of oil shale (and in coal seams). Exploiting this gas is possible by very recent advances in drilling technology, particularly hydraulic fracturing of in situ rock. North American gas prices have slumped from more than $13 per million British thermal units in mid-2008 to less than $5.

94. Fuel c omprises 3 5% o f road u ser operating c osts. A 25 % d ecline i n f uel l owers t he E IRR f rom 21.4%pa to 20.0%pa. Going the other way, a 25% increase in fuel raises the EIRR to 22.7%pa.

3.7 Unexploded Ordinance (UXO) 95. Unexploded Ordinance (UXO) clearance work is usually carried out by the GoV’s Army.

96. Currently the Circular 146/2007/TT-BQP dated 11/09/2007 provides the allowance for UXOs; on land is VND 33.2 million per hectare, and on water it is be VND 64.2 million per hectare.

97. Maps of the United States of America Air Force (USAAF) air strikes recorded during the American War with Viet Nam follow below. 5

98. A comparable USAAF air strike map for the My Thuan bridge area is provided. USAAF air strikes in the immediate vicinity of the My Thuan bridge were virtually non-existent, suggesting that that vicinity had seen little fighting. However, Army clearances in 1996 found 197 UXO items including 5 mines, both on land and underwater. Most of the UXO were artillery projectiles, mortar bombs and grenades, all attributed to ground fighting. Many of the items at the bottom of the river were 105mm artillery projectiles.

99. Clearly the vicinity can be contaminated with Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) even where no USAAF air strikes are recorded.

5 Milsearch Pty Ltd

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Figure 10: USAAF Air Strike Map for My Thuan Bridge Area.

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Figure 11: USAAF Air Strike Map for Cao Lanh Bridge Area.

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Figure 12: USAAF Air Strike Map for Vam Cong Bridge Area

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3.8 Poverty and Social 100. Component 6 of the Central Mekong Delta Region Connectivity Project is contained within Dong Thap Province (specifically T hap M uoi and C ao L anh D istricts). Component 6 c ontinues n orthward f rom Component 1, commencing at An Binh Commune in Cao Lanh District at Highway 30 and continuing in a northerly direction to Tan Kieu Commune in Thap Muoi District.

101. A Social Impact Assessment was prepared for the Central Mekong Delta Region Connectivity Project – Components 1-5 from the Highway 30 Interchange at An Binh Commune (Cao Lanh District) to Long Xuyen City. T his i s r eferred t o a s t he m ain S IA (Annex 4 – Social I mpact A ssessment) and pr esents i n d etail baseline data, impacts, risks and benefits along with detailed mitigation measures. The SIA for Component 6 forms an addendum to the main SIA. The purpose is to add data unique to this component of the Project. This additional data has the main value of providing a baseline for the subsequent monitoring and evaluation of project impacts and effectiveness of project mitigation measures. The mitigation measures and analysis are generally as per those set out in the main SIA. As a result, the narrative within the Component 6 SIA is brief and the reader is referred to the main SIA for further detail.

102. The Project area hosting the infrastructure is located in two provinces of the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam – Dong Thap and C an Tho, though the vast majority of t he Project is l ocated within D ong T hap Province alone. The area is located in the centre of the Mekong Delta with Tien Giang to the north, Vinh Long to the east, Ca Mau and Kien Giang to the south and An Giang to the west. Traditionally agriculture and especially rice production has been the mainstay of the Mekong Delta economy though over the past two decades t here h as b een a steady i ncrease i n t he i ndustrial s ector c oncentrated m ainly i n C a M au, K ien Giang, Can Tho, Tien Giang and An Giang.

103. The incidence of poverty in the Mekong Delta region in 2006 was noted to be 13% - slightly below the national average of 15% and ranks favourably against virtually all other regions in the country. Poverty is not distributed evenly in the Mekong Delta, with significantly higher average poverty rates experienced in Soc Trang, Tra Vinh and Ben Tre Provinces. The Project area in Dong Thap Province approximates the Delta regional average and poverty rates in Can Tho are significantly lower than the regional average.

104. The main income sources in the Project area are farming, casual labour, waged income, and trade. Income sources from agriculture are more likely to be found in My An Hung B Commune (Lap Vo) and Tinh Thoi Commune (Cao Lanh), casual labour more common in Dinh An Commune and My Thanh Ward with waged i ncome and trade l east c ommon in M y An H ung B C ommune ( Lap V o) reflecting l imited n on-farm livelihood o pportunities i n that l ocation. Higher i ncome s ources were more l ikely from w aged followed by agriculture, casual labour and trade.

105. Poor households were more likely to obtain their income from casual labour and petty trade/service in the non-farm sector with better off groups (near poor and well off) increasingly less likely to be obtaining their income from such sources. In the farming sector poor households overall are as likely to obtain their farm income from the same farm product type as the better off groups. Their poverty tends to be more a factor of limited land resources than to what they produce.

106. The causes of poverty in the Project area are due primarily to lack of assets, be it land, skill (including education) and financial capital.

107. The level of women’s participation in remunerated work is slightly lower (though similar) to that of men in most communes surveyed. There was a h igher representation of women as non-working (meaning not actively s eeking p aid w ork) reflecting w omen’s l ower r etirement a ge f rom t he f ormal s ector ( 55 y ears compared to 60 years for men) and decision by women or households for women to tend to the care of small children or care of aged parents instead of engaging in paid work.

108. The Project road and interchanges will, to varying degrees, form barriers for cross movement of local communities through which the roads traverse. Such a barrier effect can inhibit access to essential services (schools, medical services), markets, and livelihoods as well as severely disrupt social networks.

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109. The c ompleted p roject w ill f orm pa rt o f a c losed r oad s ystem. T his w ill f orm a b arrier t o l ateral movement, p otentially s evering l ocal c ommunities h osting the r oad. T his i mpact w as l isted a mongst the issues of concern to those interviewed as well as in the focus group discussions.

110. This issue is also presented in detail in the main SIA. The proposed mitigation measure is that during the detail design phase of the project, the Dong Thap Department of Transport with support from the PMU and P roject M anagement C onsultants w ill c onduct a n assessment o f m ovement n eeds a nd i nclude appropriate crossing points (such as foot bridges or underpasses).

111. The c onstruction p hase o f t he Project presents i ncreased r isks o f H IV/AIDS i nfection t o t he l ocal communities, construction workers and mobile populations with the main risk mechanism being unsafe sex practices. There will be a number of concentrated locations for construction workers -the vast majority of whom a re e xpected t o be u naccompanied m en a way f rom t heir f amilies a nd c ommunities f or e xtended periods. There i s a lso expected to be a n a ssociated i ncrease in the p resence o f sex w orkers a nd o ther mobile populations during this phase. The risks of human trafficking to women and children are markedly increased by impacts on livelihoods caused by the Project – especially land acquisition and changed traffic flow. The main SIA proposes a strategy for a HIV/AIDS Awareness and Prevention Program (HAPP) and a Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Program (HTPP). The objectives of the HAPP are to reduce the risk of H IV infection through targeted awareness activities to higher risk groups. The objective of the HTPP is to reduce the risk of human trafficking through implementation and detailed internal monitoring of project l ivelihood r ehabilitation p rograms as w ell a s a wareness r aising a ctivities. The s trategies p ropose implementation to be through local government institutions with mandates in these areas with support from an externally c ontracted s ervice p rovider. Other institutional s trengthening a nd c apacity b uilding s trategies proposed separately for the Women’s Union to enable their ongoing engagement on various cross-cutting issues affecting women in the Project area will also provide significant support to these objectives.

112. There are two indigenous ethnic groups in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam –Khmer and Cham. There a re a s mall n umber o f e thnic Khmer h ouseholds residing i n the Project area (0.4% o f h ouseholds surveyed). These households tend to be land-poor and reliant on casual labour as an income source. No indigenous p eople i n t he Project area a re a ffected b y l and a cquisition a nd r esettlement o r a re i ncluded amongst those with affected livelihoods. The SIA recommends measures to promote opportunities for ethnic Khmer households in the Project area to benefit from project-related employment and training.

113. Poor farming households a re e xpected to benefit directly from lower i nput costs as well as higher prices for farm produce. This would be realised via a combination of improved and more accessible road transportation (cheaper and faster transportation) as well as improved market access via improved modes of selling p roduce. Indirectly, poor farming h ouseholds are likely to benefit from d iversification of a griculture (with opportunities for more profitable crops) and increase of non-farm income sources. This assessment is based on what is known about time and distance savings expected for this Project and a comparison with longer term impacts observed in Vinh Long Province. The extent to which benefits to the poor can be realised is influenced strongly by land holding sizes as well as the degree of diversification of cultivation away from rice cultivation and participation in non-farm income sources.

114. Both poor and well-off groups markedly changed their modes of transporting their farm produce from water to road over the periods 2000, 2005, and 2009. Half of the poor group that become well-off had the same level of road usage (96%) to those who had not been poor. There was a slightly lower road usage (85%) amongst those that remained poor in 2009 compared to the non-poor groups. However, this may be due more to the type of farm produce. There was no observed correlation between proximity to sealed roads and likelihood of using road transport in the study group.

115. Diversification of agriculture is a medium term indirect benefit of the Project. The key mechanism for increased diversification of agriculture is improved market access.

116. There are two points that the SIA raises in relation to diversification of agriculture. First, the extent of successful diversification of farming to more profitable crops is a key determining characteristic in improving

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household i ncomes amongst f arming ho useholds i n t he V inh L ong study. The s econd p oint i s t hat po or households are also able to participate in and benefit from diversification of farming.

117. The second most significant characteristic differentiating poverty groups in the Vinh Long study was degree of reliance on rice cultivation versus diversified farm practices and extent of change. All three groups (Still Poor, No Longer Poor and Well Off) significantly reduced their reliance on rice cultivation over the study period. What i s interesting is the d ifference b etween the Still Poor a nd N o L onger Poor g roups a nd the changes in farm practices over time. The Still Poor group had a greater reliance on rice cultivation than the No Longer Poor group and the latter changed more rapidly in reducing their reliance on rice cultivation. By 2009 53% of the Still Poor group ranked rice amongst the three top ranking farm income sources compared for 36% of the No Longer Poor group and only of the latter 25% ranked rice as the main income source compared to 31% of the Still Poor group.

118. There are nine planned and operating industrial complexes in Dong Thap Province. Seven of these are located on National Highway 30 and two located on National Highway 80. Improved transportation will benefit the industries located here through lower input costs. Improved profitability would facilitate improved capacity to generate new employment opportunities and enhance employment stability.

3.9 Resettlement Plan 119. A total of 93.5ha of land will be acquired for Component 6 of the Project, affecting 649 households and physically displacing 113 households and 5 businesses. The losses include 85.3ha of productive land and 13ha of residential land, 640 houses and 33 businesses. A Draft Resettlement Plans has been prepared to address the impacts of physical and economic displacement. The Resettlement Plan has been designed to be in compliance with the ADB Safeguards Policy Statement and were prepared in consultation with affected households and relevant government authorities. These impacts are to be addressed through resettlement plans c onsistent w ith A DB S afeguards p olicies an d G overnment l egislation on l and a cquisition an d resettlement.

120. The total Resettlement Budget estimate, l ess contingency, for C omponent 6 of the Project is U SD 14.01 million. Table 3.9 show the breakdown of the Resettlement Budget Estimates.

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Table 3.9: Resettlement Budget Estimate Component 6

Item Description Category Breakdown Category Total A Direct Resettlement Costs

A1 Agricultural Land 51,454,778

A2 Residential Land 25,067,544

A3 Public Land

A4 House and Other Structures

A4(i) Houses 15,501,300

A4(ii) Other Private Structures 3,368,585

A5 Crops and Trees 15,287,314

A6 Public Facilities/Structures 593,700

A7 Housing Relocation Assistance

A7(i) Housing Relocation Stabilisation 598,950 Allowance* A7(ii) Housing Transport 104,000

A7(iii) Lot Development Grant 1,170,000

A7(iv) Rental Assistance (awaiting construction of 115,200 house) A7(v) Vocational Training for Relocating 313,200 Households A8 Transitional Assistance for Farming Households A8(i) Stabilisation Assistance for Farming 4,374,810 Households A8(ii) Income Restoration Allowance (for Land + 111,938,402 Vocation) A8(iii) Vocational Training for Affected Farming 6,058,800 Households A8(iv) Agricultural Extension Support

A9 Affected Businesses

A9(i) Compensation and Assistance for 190,520 Businesses A9(ii) Compensation and Assistance for 43,940 Employees A9(iii) Compensation for Lost Income from Fixed Assets A10 Special Assistance

A10(i) Special Assistance Allowance 147,000

A10(ii) House Upgrade Assistance 141,360

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Item Description Category Breakdown Category Total A10(iii) Additional Vocational Training for 252,000 Vulnerable and FHH A10(iv) Land for Landless Households Required to Relocate A11 Livelihood Rehabilitationβ

A11(i) Capital for Micro-Finance Fund&

A11(ii) Agriculture Development Fund

Sub-Total A 236,721,403

B Indirect Resettlement Costs

Independent Replacement Cost Study 120,000

External Monitor 1,000,000

Demarcation and Detailed Measurement Survey Sub-Total B 1,120,000

C Administration Costs

2% of A

Sub-Total C 4,734,428

D Contingency Costs

10% of A

Sub-Total D 23,672,140

E Grand Total

E=A+B+C+D 266,247,971

Notes: all costs in VND1,000 All costs for land, structures and crops are based on the results of the Replacement Cost Study in November 2010. The basis and assumptions of all other costs are presented in Appendix A of the Component 6 Resettlement Plan.

3.10 Environmental Impact Assessment 121. The Environmental Impact Assessment ( EIA) r eport c omplies w ith t he A DB’s E nvironment P olicy (2002) and E nvironmental A ssessment G uidelines ( 2003), w ell a s t he e nvironmental s tandards o f t he Government of Viet Nam. The environmental guidelines and regulations applicable to the preparation of EIA for projects in Viet Nam are the Law on Environmental Protection and the various directives and circulars containing the environmental standards. The EIA was carried out in accordance with the 2009 Safeguards Policy Statements. The ADB policy also requires the EIA to subscribe to the World Bank IFC EHS Standards.

122. The CMDRCP will traverse the region of the Mekong Delta where elevation is generally less than one meter above s ea level. The general area is transected b y a d ense n etwork of canals a nd the main distributaries of the Mekong River, the Tien River and the Hau River.

123. Component 6 is the northeast end of the CMDRDP which starts in the town of My An, Dong Thap Province. T his road section is about 26km in length and its end connects with Component 1 in Cao Lanh. Component 6 will intersect National and Provincial roads. Five intersections and interchanges have been designed and best options have been recommended. CMDRCP shall be implemented in two stages. During

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Stage 1, Component 6 will have a total width of 12m which will be widened to 25.5m in Stage 2. Because of the need to consider climate change and sea level rise which can result in an increase in flood levels in the Mekong Delta, the Consultants have taken into account in the hydrological study several important factors such as maximum flood height in the area (p=1%), the possible sea level rise (25cm), the need to keep the bottom of the pavement above the frequent flood by as much as 50cm and the predicted subsidence during the 15 year period. T his analysis yielded a road centreline design elevation range of 3.54 to 3.84m. T his elevation is considered sufficient to keep the road above future predicted flood levels of 3m.

124. The lower part of the Mekong Basin is in the centre of the Asian tropical monsoon region where wind reversal occurs during the summer and winter. The climate is greatly i nfluenced by the m onsoons. The southwest, wet season monsoon sets in, in mid-March to mid-May, and ends around mid-September to mid- October. The northwest dry season monsoon runs from mid-October to March. The ambient temperature throughout the different seasons shows limited variation. The temperature difference between the months during the dry season is only about 1.5°C to 3°C, and only about 1°C during the rainy season. The warmest temperatures are usually experienced during the month of April when temperatures can vary from 36°C to 40°C. On the other hand the lowest temperature usually prevails during the month of January.

125. Air quality i ndicators w ere m easured i n c ertain s ections o f t he p roposed r oad. M ost p arameters showed air quality is still within the standards, but some indicators such as TSP are relatively high in certain sections. High TSP in Component 6 is attributed to the on-going construction of the Ho Chi Minh Highway.

126. Noise readings along the project site ranged from 47.8 to 70.6dBA, lower than the allowable limits set forth in TCVN 5949-1998 (75dBA) for mixed resident commercial service and production areas.

127. The vibration along the project corridor due to vehicular traffic is also well below the limit set by TCVN 7210:2002 according to the measurement carried out in June and September 2009 by TEDI.

128. Studies h ave been c onducted to assess the i mpact o f climate change on the Mekong Basin. The salient findings of the studies are a predicted rise in temperature in the basin, an increase in annual potential evaporation; a n i ncrease in precipitation and total a nnual r un-off; an increase in the a reas susceptible to flooding, and an increase in elevation of the flood elevation. It is forecasted that by 2050, flood will submerge areas of the Delta that a re below 3 m i n e levation. T he C MDRCP has considered c limate c hange in the planning. D esign elevation of the roads has been set to elevations above the predicted worst flood level of 3m by 2050.

129. Sedimentation has continued to be the dominant process in the Delta. It is estimated that the Mekong River d elivers ~160 million tons of s ediment per year to the South C hina Sea which allowed the Delta to prograde at a quick pace. However, with the construction of dams in the upper reaches of the Mekong Basin, sediment d elivery i nto t he D elta an d i nto c oast c ould b e i nterrupted r esulting t o s ediment s tarvation and possibly coastal erosion.

130. Erosion and sedimentation are part of the processes responsible for landscape evolution of the Delta. The study on bed deformation and bank erosion in the lower reach of the Mekong River has shown bank erosions in a number of areas near the Viet Nam-Cambodia border. However a review of data indicated that while e rosion p revailed i n c ertain s ections, d eposition i s a ctive i n o ther a reas a s e videnced b y t he enlargement of the sand bar, shallowing of the river channel and other depositional features.

131. It is a nticipated that the o peration of the a dditional p lanned d ams will further a ffect h ydrology a nd sedimentation of Mekong River.

132. It i s r eported t hat t he f looding i n t he M ekong D elta i s m oderate i n c omparison t o f looding i n t he upstream region and serious flooding has occurred in the Delta during the years 1961, 1966, 1978, 1991, 1994 1996, 2000 and 2002. Based on records, the historical flood of 2000 is the worst flood within the last 75 years.

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133. Apart from its destructive effects, flooding is recognised as part of the natural geomorphologic process that drives the dynamic evolution of the Mekong Delta. Further, the annual flooding event is responsible for replenishing the fertile alluvium that is vital to the agricultural productivity of the Delta region. The floods also play a vital role in the natural treatment of the acidic water produced by the leaching of the acid sulfate soil that permeates much of the lower reaches of the Mekong Delta

134. The description of the soils occurring along the Project corridor as determined by VESDEC during its 2009 s ite s urvey varied f rom l ight t o d ensely c ompact h eavy l oam t o c lay. Based on t he ge ological information these are interpreted to be of fluvial and marine origin. The corridor is generally water logged as observed i n a ll t he s tations. The d ata s hows t he p ossible p resence of a cidic s oil in Component 6. Considering the sparse distribution of sampling stations, additional soil pH monitoring is needed to define the extent of ASS.

135. The CMDRCP w ill require excavation of foundation and the removal of a large volume of soft soil. These spoils will have the potential to cause varied negative impacts such as acidic run-off (if acid sulfate soil is encountered), spoil can smother the adjoining farmlands when improperly stockpiled, and the foul odour of soil with high organic content may annoy nearby residents. M itigation measures for these impacts include direct disposal, proper management of spoil stockpiles, a height limit for stockpiles, and proper handling of acidic soil.

136. The baseline water quality data collected during this period does not indicate any concern regarding nutrients and other deleterious elements including heavy metals which were not detected in water samples. But some level of pollution is present as indicated by the presence of oil, grease and coliform.

137. Most of the canals sampled have a neutral pH, with very low organic pollution levels as indicated by the l ow c oncentrations o f C OD a nd B OD. S uspended sediment c oncentration i s r elatively h igh w ith concentrations ranging from 46mg/l to 96mg/l. All canals have indications of oil and grease pollution. The concentrations of heavy metals are generally below detection limits in almost all samples. In samples where it is detected, the concentration is very low compared to the limits set by the existing standards.

138. Groundwater resources in the study area consist of a series of aquifers within the thick sedimentary layers that make up the Mekong Delta. The aquifers range in age from Upper Miocene to Holocene in age. The o ccurrence o f f our a quifers b eneath t he M ekong D elta h as b een d etermined. The U pper-Middle Pleistocene, coarse to fine sand, aquifer covers large areas in the north and south of the Delta, with total dissolved solids less than 1000 mg/L. Below this aquifer, the Lower Pleistocene, gravel to sand, aquifer is said to have better quality and supplies water to over 60% of the Delta. However, excessive pumping of this aquifer in the Ca Mau Peninsula has resulted in the lowering of the piezometric surface.

139. It is noted that the groundwater quality is affected by the natural presence of deleterious elements in the aquifers. In addition, the water quality obtained from relatively shallow wells failed to comply with the standards for groundwater a s s et b y Q CVN 09: 2008. From d eeper wells ( 300m to 350m below ground surface), all water samples generally complied with the standards for groundwater. Note that the presence of iron in the aquifer is reflected in the quality of the water.

140. The CMDRCP corridor will traverse mostly agricultural lands and urban ecosystems. The region that will be traversed by the CMDRCP is within the most important agricultural areas of Viet Nam. It is the top rice producing region. Other crops cultivated are mixtures of coconut, vegetables and fruit orchards. Aside from agricultural crops, some 40 plant species have been identified in the rice paddies of the Mekong Delta, this includes ruderal weeds and grasses.

141. One important biodiversity conservation site in the general area of the Project is the Plain of Reeds, Dong Thap Muoi, where the Tram Chim National Park is located. This park is more than 25km to the north- northeast of the CMDRCP project corridor. The Tram Chim was designated as a ‘Sarus Crane Reserve’ by Dong Thap Provincial People's Committee in 1986. This park contains one of the last remnants of the Plain of Reeds w etland e cosystem, w hich p reviously c overed s ome 7 00,000ha o f D ong T hap, L ong A n a nd T ien Giang Provinces.

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142. Site investigation c arried ou t b y V ESDEC i n 2 009 indicated t hat the c ommon n atural v egetation present a long t he Project c orridor a re s everal s pecies of gr asses a nd w eeds, s ome of w hich h ave been classified as invasive alien species (IAS).

143. According to the A sian R egional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation ( ARCBC), the fish l ife i n the freshwater z one o f t he Mekong D elta a re d ominated by s pecies o f Cyprinidae, Siluridae Clariidae, Schilbeidae, Bagridae, Sisoridae, Akysidae, Chanidae and Ophicephalidae. It reported that over 200 species of fishes contribute to the commercial fishery, along with shellfish, mussels and clams (Mollusca), and prawns and shrimps, notably Macrobrachium rosenbergii and Penaeus monodon (Pantulu, 1986b).

144. The TEDI EIA (2009) reported the presence of 76 species of phytoplankton belonging to 18 families and 52 species of zooplankton, belonging to 16 families. No species are listed in the Viet Nam Red Book.

145. The Mekong Delta is an important source of fish supply in the country. The CMDRCP is situated in the most important region of Viet Nam for freshwater fish culture. Aquaculture industry exists in the Provinces of An Giang, Dong Thap, Can Tho and Vinh Long.

146. For d omestic w ater s ources, m ost c ommunities w ithin t he Project c orridor r ely on g roundwater, rainwater and surface water for domestic needs. A social survey in the Project corridor indicates that surface water is the most common source of water in the Project corridor.

147. The Mekong Delta has a dense network of river and canal systems that includes 37 rivers, aggregate length of 1,706km; 137 canals, aggregate length of 2,780km; and 33 canals with a length of 466km. The small canals managed by the Local Authorities have an aggregate length of about 11,404km.

148. The Tien River and the Hau River are International waterways which lead to Cambodia. As such, their use and management are shared by riparian countries. As stipulated in the signed International agreement, the GoV should inform the Government of Cambodia, through the Mekong River Commission (of which Viet Nam is a member), of the proposed construction of the Cao Lanh and Vam Cong bridges.

149. The M ekong D elta i s t he m ain a gricultural a rea o f V iet N am. A mong i ts m ain i ndustries a re r ice production and aquaculture. T he Delta produced more than 50% of the country’s total rice production for 2007.

150. The province of An Giang has the highest agricultural production between 2000 and 2007. It has, for that matter, the highest agricultural productivity among the Provinces that make up the Cuu Long Delta during the s ame pe riod. T he g rowth of a gricultural industry d uring t he p eriod o f 2 001 t o 2 005 i s 5 .8%. T he agricultural sector is striving to improve rice production to achieve the goal of 8.2 million tons in 2010 and 9.5 million tons in 2020.

151. As for the fisheries industry, An Giang is among the top five producers in the Delta, led by Ca Mau and Kien Giang. H owever, for industrial productivity during the same period, Can Tho had the h ighest output followed by Kien Giang. It is reported that the growth of industrial development in the Cuu Long Delta is still considered modest and constrained by a high proportion o f unskilled labour. The p roportion of u nskilled labour among the labour force of the Mekong Delta is estimated at 82.25% as compared with the country’s proportion o f 74 .6%. A lthough l ocal l abourers a re f inding em ployment, t hey c annot b e e ngaged i n development projects.

152. Land use data of the three Provinces along the Project corridor shows that agricultural encompasses 63% to 81% of the individual Provinces’ total land area. F orest, special use and homestead takes up the remaining land space.

153. It is estimated that this phase of the CMDRCP will entail the permanent conversion of over a hundred hectares of rice land in the three Provinces. This translates to an annual loss of over 600 tons of rice using a production capacity of six tons per hectare per year. This loss is very small compared to the combined annual production of the three Provinces of about 3.3 million tons per year. Aside from the clearing and conversion

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of agricultural and residential lands, the project will also entail the demolition of structures, removal of graves and relocation of utilities.

154. Relocation of utilities may cause a temporary interruption of services to the affected communities. The proposed mitigation for the possible impacts of the transfer of utility lines is to lay out the new lines prior to the transfer so that any interruption of services will be minimized.

155. Noise i s on e o f t he p otential i mpacts d uring t he c onstruction s tage. S ource o f n oises du ring construction are construction equipment and construction plants, for example asphalt and cement batching plants. Predicted noise levels generated during construction is expected to exceed existing noise levels, and exceed the maximum noise levels allowed in particular areas. This is of particular concern at the approaches of both Cao Lanh and Vam Cong bridges due to the requirement for larger construction sites, including the casting yards. M itigation measures for noise impacts include substitution of equipment with a lower noise signature, isolation of sources of noise or the receptor, increasing the distance between source and receptor, and minimize noise at the source.

156. The 2009 TEDI EIA p redicted the concentration of dust during c onstruction stage for b oth the d ry season in January and for July. The results show that without mitigation, the predicted concentrations of TSP during construction may exceed standards. With the already high ambient TSP concentration, construction may cause further degradation of ambient air quality. To protect public health, dust suppression and other mitigation measures should be implemented. Additionally, special concerns for noise, dust and wastewater during construction includes the concrete batching plants, casting yards and concrete mixing. Due to noise and d ust concerns, concrete batching, c rushing a nd c ement m ixing plants shall be located a t a sufficient distance away from inhabited areas and other sensitive receptors. Also, areas within the Project where there is a regular movement of vehicles shall have an acceptable hard surface and be kept clear of loose surface material. Dust suppression through spraying water shall be applied to unpaved roads, as well as other bare areas w ithin a ctive c onstruction s ites. A s peed l imit s hall b e i mposed o n Project v ehicles travelling o n unpaved roads to minimise the resuspension of dust. Wheel washers shall be provided in active construction sites so that delivery trucks can be cleaned of mud and dirt as they exit the work area.

157. Results of the air quality modelling indicated that gaseous emissions do not pose serious concerns during the construction stage. However, as part of best management practice, mitigations still need to be implemented.

158. The 2009 EIA prepared by TEDI predicted that the vibrations caused by the operation of construction equipment will n ot ex ceed t he e xisting T CVN 6 962:2001 s tandard of 7 5dB b eyond 1 2m f rom s ource. However, since vibration can be a nuisance to nearby communities, mitigations should be implemented.

159. The Project will operate construction yards with an equipment yard, maintenance shop, and an oil and fuel d epot. Soil c ontamination c an be c aused b y t he s pillage o f o il, f uel a nd l ubricants d uring h andling, servicing o f e quipment, r efuelling o f equipment a nd v ehicles, a nd d isposal o f us ed o ils a nd o il s tained materials. Measures to mitigate this potential impact is proper handling and storage of polluting materials, proper waste disposal of hazardous materials, and restoration of affected areas.

160. Soil compaction will occur in areas that will be used temporarily by the Project. The ground will be purposely compacted in areas like the construction yards and stockpile areas. Movement of vehicles off road will also cause soil compaction. Rehabilitation of temporary sites needs to be carried out by the Contractor prior to returning the land to the owner.

161. At the end of the construction period, the Contractor should restore the temporary sites (for example stockpile a reas, construction y ard, temporary access, construction c amp areas, borrow sites, etc.) prior to abandonment and return the property to the land owner.

162. Considering the ecological status of the Project alignment, which is mostly agricultural and built-up, the impacts on species and habitat diversity is not significant. E cological condition may even improve once the road is landscaped and tree species are introduced. The positive impact of landscaping and planting of trees

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in the road verges can be enhanced if the tree species to be planted will enhance aesthetics and contribute to biodiversity conservation.

163. The construction of the Project is not expected to have significant impacts on the groundwater of the project corridor. The presence of thick clay and clayey layers in the project corridor, as determined during the soil survey, minimizes the risk of groundwater pollution from surface sources. T he low permeability of clay constrains the percolation of water from the surface.

164. In c ompliance w ith A DB g uidelines, a g rievance r edress m echanism h as b een p repared a nd incorporated in the EIA document. While this is based on ADB’s experience in another developing country, it is deemed sufficient as the framework for this Project. Refinement of the mechanism will come in time as this is put to test under the socio-cultural conditions of Viet Nam.

165. As far as can be determined, the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) contains sufficient measures to ameliorate the adverse environmental impacts and its implementation is assured given the manpower that has been lined up, the supporting a ctivities that h ave been p rogrammed, the a vailability o f the funds and institutional involvements. Finally, refinement and improvement of the EMP is expected as the planning of the CMDRCP progresses to detailed design. One of the improvements that are foreseen is the preparation of the construction en vironmental m anagement p lan t o b e p repared b y t he C ontractor. This p lan w ill p rovide detailed m ethodologies, p rocedures, g uidelines a nd s tandards f or e nvironmental m anagement o f construction.

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4 Recommendations 166. Throughout the preparation of the Component 6 Feasibility Study, SMEC reviewed and commented on the various reports prepared by BAECCO. These comments have been integrated into the Final Report as submitted.

167. We are concerned with the preferred alignment of Component 6 f rom a road safety perspective and would e ncourage P MU-MT a nd M oT t o r econsider t he l ong l ength o f s traight r oad a s p roposed. T his alignment also impacts upon the skew angle of the bridge as they cross the various waterways and canals and has an impact on the overall cost of these structures.

168. From both a road safety and economic perspective, we would recommend further consideration be given t o t he r oute a lignment. H owever, i t is ap parent t hat t he a rea i s h eavily cr iss-crossed w ith i nland waterways and canal systems and the alignment may be the most optimal solution from a resettlement and land acquisition perspective.

169. Based o n t he i nvestigations u ndertaken a nd t he F inal F easibility S tudy r eports, w e r ecommend Component 6 proceed to secure funding and advance to detailed design phase.

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LIST OF LINKED DOCUMENTS

1. Economic Assessment – Components 4, 5 and 6 2. Resettlement Plan – Components 4 and 5 An Giang Province 3. Resettlement Plan – Component 6 Dong Thap Province (Addendum to Annex 6.1 of Components 1 – 3, Central Mekong Delta Connectivity Project) 4. Environmental Impact Assessment – Components 4, 5 and 6 5. Social Impact Assessment – Component 6 (Addendum to Annex 4 of Components 1 – 3, Central Mekong Delta Connectivity Project)

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