At 5 am, the secretary of the Chairman of the Board of Management (BOM) of Deo Ca Group delivered the direction of the Chairman of the BOM: “No salary reduction for anyone, even though they are on temporary leave, or have been and are in quarantine”.
Last April, during the outbreak of the pandemic, Mr. Ho Minh Hoang also directed not to reduce anyone’s salary in the system. But at that time, Covid-19 only caused general difficulties for the whole society. This time, the decision was made in a more difficult situation. Covid -19 has “attacked” Trung Luong - My Thuan project, more than 20 employees were infected, hundreds of people had to be isolated, and the supply of materials was paralyzed due to many localities implementing social distancing.
Chairman of the BOM Ho Minh Hoang at Cua Luc 1 project (photo taken in April 2020)
Overcoming the “tight spot”
In May 2021, Covid-19 epidemic intrudes on Trung Luong - My Thuan project. On May 9, two employees working at the project management office found themselves coughing, low-grade fever, sore throat, fatigue... Immediately they were taken to the hospital to be checked and found positive for Covid -19. The authorities have locked-down the working office and quarantine many workers who are in F1, F2 categories.
After that, in just 1 month, they found more than 20 of F0 cases are employees of the project, 134 F1 cases were quarantined at concentrated quarantine points, 188 of F2 cases had to be isolated on-site, 406 of F3 cases. That has seriously affected the construction plan of Trung Luong - My Thuan expressway. Especially, when the project is in the sprint stage to be completed by the end of this year.
The first thing to solve is the difficult living conditions in the quarantine points, the group's leaders requested to provide essential supplies to ensure the health of all employees there. On July 2, 2021, more than 50 employees completed concentrated quarantine at Hoa Hung primary school. However, there are still many other officials and workers who are still in other quarantine points.
Chairman of the BOM inspected the 3rd shift at Trung Luong - My Thuan (Photo taken in March 2020)
Apart from the bidding packages forced to suspend due to concentrated quarantine or on-site quarantine under the direction of the authorities, the bidding packages that are not affected will continue to organize construction 3 shifts per day.
Affected bidding packages that had to stop construction from June 10, 2021 have resumed construction from July 1.
The quick revival of Trung Luong - My Thuan after being “injured” is because right from the early days of the epidemic, the Steering Committee for Covid-19 prevention and control of Deo Ca Group was established. The plans to cope with the situations of the epidemic were also developed, avoiding being passive in all circumstances. Mr. Ho Minh Hoang has assigned 3 vice-chairmen and 3 general directors into 3 independent working groups, located in different areas. As a result, when a member is affected by the epidemic and cannot directly manage, there will be other personnel to “fill” in that position. The operation is not interrupted. The Group also arranges online meeting system or uses modern applications to work online, minimizing the travel employees...
This is the project that was mentioned by the BOM in any briefing as the number 1 priority, the number 1 concern. Because Trung Luong - My Thuan project is the Deo Ca’s prestige, the Government's trust and expectations of Mekong delta people.
When vaccines are scarce, Mr. Ho Minh Hoang has repeatedly worked with the leaders of Tien Giang province, proposed the Ministry of Health to allocate vaccine sources for workers working directly and indirectly at Trung Luong - My Thuan project. The cost of the vaccine will be borne by Deo Ca.
Within half a month from the date of request, all officials and employees of Trung Luong - My Thuan project were vaccinated, bringing the total number of vaccinated people throughout the system to more than 2,000. It can be seen that Deo Ca steers the “injured ship” Trung Luong - My Thuan by full of effort, initiative, timeliness, and undauntedness.
“You are my family”
The 2021 message of the Chairman of the BOM of Deo Ca Group is “ASPIRATION”. In his message at the beginning of the year, Mr. Ho Minh Hoang mentioned Deo Ca's bravery and ability to overcome difficulties and emphasized: “You are my family”.
Indeed, in the sacred moment that 2020 passed and 2021 came, no one foresaw that the whole society has entered the ‘fire gate”. That aspiration is consistent throughout the process.
Mr. Ho Minh Hoang inspects the construction progress of Hai Van 2 tunnel (photo taken in March 2020)
One morning, employees of Bac Hai Van toll station were surprised by the appearance of the head of Deo Ca Group. Without crowded delegation, Mr. Ho Minh Hoang went to each toll booth, operator center and to the construction site inside of Hai Van mountain to check the work of COVID-19 prevention here.
“Today, if you are working for another business, you may have forced to stay at home. But at Deo Ca, we do not leave our working position, the Group's machinery is still running. We guarantee your jobs provided that we strictly follow the direction of the Government and the requirements of the Covid-19 prevention Steering Committee”, Mr. Ho Minh Hoang said to the workers at Hai Van 2 project at 10 am on March 30, 2020.
That unplanned inspection trip of the head of the Group was surprised many employees at the toll booths and at Hai Van 2 project. The hand punches (instead of shaking hands), the strict instructions in epidemic prevention and control, the compliments in a close atmosphere from the captain, even though it must be said through a mask, made the workers feel more secure.
In April 2020, the socio-economic activities almost stop due to quarantine and social distancing. An atmosphere of anxiety and tension covered. In such circumstances, “Overcoming Corona storm” - a hot song of the Chairman of Deo Ca Group was born. The lyrics are emotional, determined, the melody urges, generous. It is a song that encourages the spirit of solidarity and confidence to overcome the epidemic fear to move forward together. Mr. Ho Minh Hoang wrote and sang with his colleagues. The singing echoes throughout the construction camps of Deo Ca, from the revolutionary land of Cao Bang, on Cua Luc Bay, inside Hai Van Mountain, in the Mekong Delta...
The song was played on the day connecting Trung Luong - My Thuan route, at the moment of ribbon-cutting to inaugurate Hai Van 2 tunnel. And in a difficult time, when I was writing this article, Deputy General Director Cao Ngoc Nam – A “general” reported that the team has just made the final drill broke through Bao Bien tunnel - a key project of Quang Ninh province in the shared joy of the whole system. Deo Ca people continue to sing “Overcoming Corona storm” at Bao Bien project in Quang Ninh.
The vitality and spirit of “Overcoming Corona storm” will be the driving force to overcome difficulties at Trung Luong - My Thuan and other projects that Deo Ca Group is implementing throughout the S-shaped land.
By HA PHUONG
