Vinaconex: Social Responsibility of a Large Enterprise

After more than 20 years of construction and development, Vietnam Construction and Import Export Corporation (Vinaconex) has gradually asserted its position in the Vietnamese and regional construction markets. The corporation is not only successful in new markets like real estate, cement, hydropower and financial investment but also famous for its exemplary builder with high social corporate responsibility like supports for the poor.

 

As a locomotive in the construction industry, the corporation has continuously renovated and transferred technologies for the sake of life like prestressed concrete or projects of high sociality like Song Da water supply system for Hanoi, Buon Kuop hydropower plant for the Central Highlands.

Under the current context of economic recession, building houses for low-income earners is a breakthrough solution to ensure the social security. Thus, the Government of Vietnam decided to spend nearly VND24 trillion for this meaningful work. Being aware of its social corporate responsibility, since 2001, Vinaconex Corp has perseveringly built shelters for low-income earners such as 31,000 food-sheltering flats in the Mekong Delta region, Xuan Mai apartment for low-paid workers in Vinh Phuc province or an apartment project for the same purpose in Kim Chung commune, Dong Anh district, Hanoi city.

 

Mr Nguyen Van Tuan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vinaconex, affirmed that accommodations for low-income earners cannot be built with low quality. “We can build cheap houses because we have suitable designs, materials and interiors, not substandard ones. Additionally, houses for low-income earners do not necessarily have five storeys downwards and usage areas of less than 60 square metres. We should build many types of houses to suit demands and budgets of buyers.”

 

According to experts, enterprises are uninterested in building houses for low-income earners because they cannot decide the selling price, which is fixed by local authorities, while they are the investors. In addition, banks do not want to lend this kind of projects as they fear the infeasibility.

 

Mr Tuan said the State should allot responsibility to build cheap houses for construction firms and see it a social corporate responsibility. Besides, it should facilitate builders to approach soft loans, get free taxes and free land use to form suitable selling prices and reduce burden for investors.

 

Vinaconex uses construction technologies to cut production costs and the most noteworthy is prestressed concrete technology. In 1999, Vinaconex Corp cooperated with RONVEAUX of Belgium to implement prestressed concrete technology at Xuan Mai Concrete and Construction Factory to produce outsized concretes to build civil, industrial buildings, stadiums and bridges. This kind of concrete can be used in most modern buildings. This technology is used in high-rise apartments like Trung Hoa - Nhan Chinh New Urban Zone, My Dinh - Song Da Residential Zone and flood-sheltering houses in the Mekong Delta Region. Prestressed concreted helps reduce costs and construction time while still ensuring quality.

On March 29, 2009, the first 140-MW turbine of Buon Kuop hydropower plant in Hoa Phu commune, Buon Me Thuot city, Dak Lak province, which is built by Vinaconex started operations, 31 days before schedule. This facility reduces the country’s power shortage and gives access to electricity to local people.

According to reports from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, most power plants were completed 3-12 months behind schedule. The sooner completion of Buon Kuop power plant marked a milestone in the history of Vinaconex.

 

The Buon Kuop hydropower plant is built on the Srepok River which runs through Dak Lak and Dak Nong provinces and is one of most-difficult-to-build projects. Vinaconex’s engineers and workers officially joined the power plant building class in Vietnam. The VND4,982-billion Buon Kuop hydropower plant was invested by the Electricity of Vietnam and built by Vinaconex. The two 140-MW turbine plant can generate 1.4 billion KWh of electricity per year. The construction schedule was six years, starting from December 21, 2003. (The first turbine was expected to starts operating on April 30, 2009; the second turbine on August 31, 2009 and the entire plant in December 2009.)

 

The Song Da water plant invested by Vinaconex Corp is a highly social project. In March, the corporation signed agreements to transfer the water supply system to Hanoi Fresh Water Co. Ltd and Vinaconex Fresh Water Business & Construction Investment Joint Stock Company (ViWaCo), an affiliate of Vinaconex. Under the deals, from April 1, 2009, ViWaCo took over the clean water supply system in the southwest of Hanoi from Song Da water plant, which can meet the demand in Hanoi, Ha Tay and Hoa Binh. The facility is expected to accelerate the urbanisation in the west of Hanoi. The plant, with an investment capital of VND2,500 billion and daily output of 600,000 cubic metres will be doubled the output after 2020. This is the largest surface water plant designed and built by Vietnam.

 

At present, only 60 per cent of Hanoi residents have access to clean water. However, the underground water has a high content of toxic substances and ammoniac. The Song Ha - Hanoi water plant will have solve these.