Chinese firm kicked out of Hanoi water pipeline project

Vietnam’s Vinaconex Water Supply Company (Viwasupco) has decided to do a u-turn on a previously agreed deal with a Chinese supplier for a pipeline project.

The move comes following public concern regarding the quality of the iron pipes the Chinese company would have supplied project.

In March, Viwasupco announced that Xinxing Corp., a Chinese maker, had won the contract to supply pipes for the second phase of the Da River water pipeline project after bidding 11.8 percent less than Viwasupco’s asking price.

Since the first phase of the project was completed, pipes supplied by another Chinese contractor have ruptured 18 times, and the decision to select another Chinese supplier has met with outcry from the public in Vietnam. 

Opposition was so strong that Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had to step in. On April 6,  Phuc agreed with Hanoi’s request to ask Viwasupco to postpone signing a contract with the firm.

Viwasupco has hired a law firm to assess the possible consequences of its decision to cancel the deal. 

The first phase of the Da River water pipeline project, which supplies 300,000 cubic meters of water to Hanoi, was put into operation in 2009.

The faulty water pipes have caused severe water shortages in various parts of the capital. Local authorities have investigated the project and concluded the problem was poor quality pipes supplied by the Chinese firm.

Nine Vinaconex officials have been prosecuted for violating construction regulations during the first phase of the project.