“Dear Uncle,
I and Deo Ca Group’s employees come to Cao Bang to continue implementing Dong Dang - Tra Linh highway project. The project still has many difficulties, but we will be determined to work hard to achieve the results. Please bless us to succeed in the project. This is the third time I have come to burn incense for you and we will return to report Uncle when there is specific result”. That is the content that the Chairman of Deo Ca Group, Ho Minh Hoang wrote in the visitors’ book at Uncle Ho’s Temple in Pac Bo Historical Site (Cao Bang) in his third trip there on October 01st, 2019.
The feeling lines written by the head of Deo Ca Group on 01 October 2019
Mr. Ho Minh Hoang, Deo Ca Group, has a special relationship with Cao Bang, a special sentiment exceeding the simple meaning of an investor coming to a locality which is proved when he spoke at the launching ceremony “Implementing President Ho Chi Minh’s Testament to build Cao Bang”, Mr. Ho Minh Hoang shared: “I was here today, I was so touched because this place was the cradles of the revolution, making a plan for joining hands to build the country. Joining hands to build Cao Bang was nothing more practical than joining hands to build a highway for Cao Bang. Leaders of the Group, the Party Committee and the Union of the Group had launched a program to join hands to build Cao Bang and join hands to build a highway.”
With the spirit of responsibility to the revolutionary homeland, within a week, the Union of the Group raised about 1 billion VND, we hereby donated to Cao Bang province to join hands and contribute to the construction of the highway with Cao Bang province, implementing President Ho Chi Minh’s instruction at the talk with the leaders of the province in early spring of 1961: “Cao Bang must be as tall as the best provinces, preferably Cao Bang exceeded other province’s level”.
Mr. Ho Minh Hoang wrote his feeling at the historical site of Uncle Ho’s Temple
Voluntariness
At an exchange party in Da Nang City of Deo Ca Group and some other companies with the presence of Cao Bang province leaders, Chairman Ho Minh Hoang sang the famous song named “Voluntariness” of musician Truong Quoc Khanh, then he said: “Coming to Cao Bang, first of all was to research and desire to build a road for Cao Bang which was entirely our voluntariness. Deo Ca would lead and “raise the flag high” in building infrastructure forming a premise for many companies of other sectors to come to this poor locality”.
Voluntariness is the beginning of a special and rare relationship of a company to this border area of the country.
The relationship of Deo Ca with Cao Bang began since the autumn of 2018, when the province leader came to Hanoi to invite Deo Ca to take a trip to Cao Bang to survey a highway project that had not been implemented for many years because of high total investment capital.
Secretary of Cao Bang, Mr. Lai Xuan Mon also admitted: “If Deo Ca wanted to come to Cao Bang to do business, they would not do that. Mr. Hoang (Chairman Ho Minh Hoang) came to Cao Bang for another reason”.
What was the reason? In the afternoon of September 27th, after over 6 hours of moving from Hanoi to Cao Bang, at the first official meeting with the province leaders of People’s Committee of Cao Bang province talking about the project of Tra Linh Highway (Cao Bang) – Dong Dang (Lang Son), the first word Mr. Ho Minh Hoang said: “If a patient in Cao Bang had to go to Hanoi for emergency treatment, how can he be timely treated with the current road ... We took a practical trip from Hanoi to Cao Bang with the distance of 300km with many “bends”. Considering from the socio-economic benefits for the people, we thought that Cao Bang must have a more favorable road”.
Then, when discussing about the cooperation for construction of Dong Dang – Tra Linh highway project, the Chairman of Deo Ca Group frankly pointed out the “obstacles” affecting the investor. Especially, Mr. Ho Minh Hoang mentioned the issue of implementing a big project that usually lasted many years, the term thinking, if any, would affect the construction implementation.
The “introduction part” may make the leaders of Cao Bang province “hurt”. However, when answering the press right at the break time, Secretary Lai Xuan Mon asserted: “Cao Bang had no term thinking. Cao Bang must build the highway. Poverty could only be reduced when there was road. Local people had been waiting for this road for a long time, many leadership terms were very anxious when this road was not built”. It was so rare to see the frankness of an investor and the truly wish and demand of the local leaders.
The third time coming back Uncle Ho’s temple full of emotion
Aspiration for the most beautiful road in Vietnam
In a recent sharing, Associate Professor Tran Chung said: “Deo Ca Group wanted to build Dong Dang – Tra Linh highway, making it the most beautiful road in Vietnam”. The word “beautiful” here went beyond the meaning of the construction quality appraised by leading experts. “Beautiful” was also in a broader perspective when the investor placed the people’s interests first.
Indeed! Cao Bang, a beautiful and majestic land in the border area of the country. Cao Bang history is associated with the history of Vietnamese revolution and the places marking a majestic history.
Sadly, the current traffic condition here is poor. Cao Bang has a strongly divided terrain and large slope, which leads to the difficulty in the transport infrastructure of the province. With 95% of the population are ethnic minorities in the country, the bendy passes make Cao Bang to be isolated. There are only 2 roads linking the transport network of Cao Bang that are national highways 3 and 4A. These two roads go through the sloping mountainous terrain leading to low technical factors, and many sections have been seriously degraded making the means of transport face difficulty, unsafety and traffic congestion.
Cao Bang has the advantage of 330 km long border road with China. It has full potential for socioeconomic development with dense border gate system. But the barriers from the transport infrastructure prevent Cao Bang from promoting its potential to be as other border provinces.
A highway from Dong Dang linking Tra Linh to connect Cao Bang both ensures the national security and removes the obstacle for the province’s socioeconomic development. Secretary Lai Xuan Mon once shared: “Dong Dang – Tra Linh highway is a long term aspiration of the people, of many leadership terms in Cao Bang”.
When Investor looks from the people’s interests
Despite of the barriers on bank loans, the risk of low vehicle flow may affect the financial plan, Deo Ca Group is still determined to show their desire to build this road.
Through the first step of researching on the current condition of the traffic infrastructure of Cao Bang province, at the first official meeting with Cao Bang’s leaders, Mr. Ho Minh Hoang frankly said that the investment in construction of a highway with the length of over 100km to motivate the socioeconomic development was a very meaningful thing, bringing long-term benefits to the localities. However, he also said that this was a job, a project that the investor must be very “brave” and determined to implement successfully.
And such “specific steps” start by the fact that the consulting company proposes the partly investment for this highway. Phase 1 is from 2019 - 2020, invest in the route from Tan Thanh (Lang Son) to Cao Bang City with the length of about 80km. Phase 2 is the investment in construction of the highway route from Lang Son to Cao Bang and the route from Cao Bang City to Tra Linh border gate.
At the meeting between the Government’s delegation and the key leaders of Cao Bang province on 24 November 2018, this investment partly solution was presented and it was highly appreciated by the Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. The total investment capital of Phase 1 is 10,000 billion VND, the Prime Minister agreed that the central budget would support 2,000 billion VND, the local budget would support 2,000 billion VND, so the investor’s capital would be 6,000 billion VND.
With the fact that Hai Van 2 road tunnel has just been put into operation, opening the traffic knot in the Central, they continue to move North with the mission of realizing the aspiration of Cao Bang people. It will certainly be a beautiful road.
Nguyen Quang Thanh
