Da Nang Power Company Director Ngo Tan Cu, on Monday, refuted a false rumour in recent times that the Hai Van Tunnel would be at high risk of being closed down as the project manager has failed to pay power bills for the operation of the passage since last month.

The inside of the Hai Van Tunnel which significantly shorten the travel time between Da Nang and Thua Thien Hue Province

The Hai Van Tunnel Management and Operation JSC (HAMADECO), the operator of the 6.28km-long tunnel liking Da Nang and Thua Thien-Hue Province, has been owing more than 2.6 billion VND (111,797US$) to the Da Nang Power Company for the use of power from September to October.

The power supplier asked for payment three times but HAMADECO delayed paying. However, the power firm has no intention of cutting its power supply to the tunnels because the tunnel plays a key role in the country’s traffic infrastructure from the north to the south with its important position on the National Highway 1A.  

From now until the end of this year, HAMADECO is expected to own an additional 4 billion VND billion VND (171,357 US$) to the Da Nang Power Company.

The power company is now asking the Ministry of Transport to deal with the issue as the late payment has violated the Law on Electricity and negatively affected the firm’s business operations.

Meanwhile, the delay is said to be down to HAMADECO’s main contractor – the Deo Ca Investment JSC – failing to pay the cost to operate the tunnel for many months.

On 30 August, HAMADECO Director General Nguyen Xuan Huong sent a written payment request to the Deo Ca company but the problem has yet to handled.

The Deo Ca company has paid HAMADECO its operation fee for the first quarter of this year.

According to Mr Ngo Xuan Huong, the General Director of HAMADECO, the operating cost for the tunnel had been funded by the state budget until November 2015, when Deo Ca Investment JSC began to take charge of all operation costs under a contract signed with HAMADECO.

Officially opened to traffic on 5 June 2005 after 5 years of construction at a total construction cost of over 127 million USD, the Hai Van Tunnel was the longest road tunnel in the South East Asia region, and one of the 30 longest in the world, at that time.

The tunnel provides a more convenient and shorter alternative to the Hai Van Pass for vehicles travelling between Da Nang and Thua Thien-Hue Province.