BÌNH ĐỊNH — The construction of the tunnel through the Cù Mông Mountain Pass connecting Bình Định and Phú Yên provinces is expected to be completed by the end of this year, three months ahead of schedule.

Construction on the project, with total investment of VNĐ 3.92 trillion (US$174 million), began construction in September 2015. It has a total length of 6.6 kilometres, including the 2.6 kilometre approaching road with designed capacity of 80 kph. It also includes two parallel sides consisting of two lanes each.

Đèo Cả Investment Joint Stock Company was the investor of the project. Once completed, the tunnel is expected to reduce traffic accidents and ensure traffic flow on the National Highway No 1, boosting the socio-economic development of Bình Định and Phú Yên provinces and surrounding areas.

Currently, 80 per cent of the project has been completed.

Nguyễn Tấn Đông, deputy director of Đèo Cả Investment Joint Stock Company and director of the Cù Mông Tunnel Project Management Board, said the most difficult construction phase of the two ends of the tunnel has been completed since the beginning of this year. 

Thirty per cent of the soil and stones dug from the two sides of the tunnel has been used to make the road surface. 

Currently, the approaching road is under construction.

Đông said the construction units have prepared and submitted detailed plans for the construction period from now to the end of the year. In addition, the investor has also planned to mobilise more qualified engineers to accelerate the construction progress. 

The project could be completed by the end of this year, and the tunnel could take in traffic in the first quarter of next year, he said.

According to Đông, the Cù Mông tunnel was located in a relatively weak geological area with many fault zones running along the tunnel. Therefore, during the construction process, engineers and geotechnical engineers must constantly monitor geological changes to establish the proper supporting structure and prevent the risk of destabilising the tunnel roof. 

Đông said alongside the construction progress, the investor has implemented measures to ensure labour safety and fire prevention and control to monitor and correct violations.

When using a large amount of explosives for the construction, the investor has instructed the contractors to build explosive storage facilities and coordinate with local authorities to regularly check the regulations on the use of explosive materials. — VNS