Construction of Vietnam bridge supervised by Filipino consultants

While foreign companies have been contracted to design and supervise construction of major bridges and road systems in the Philippines, such structures have been entrusted to Filipino consulting firms in countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

The Tran Thi Ly Bridge, located in Danang City, Vietnam, was inaugurated and opened to traffic last March 29. I attended the inauguration as managing partner of Angel Lazaro and Associates International (ALAI) together with Edgardo Ortega and Michael Reyes, chief executive officer and chief operating officer, respectively, of DCCD Engineering Corp.

The bridge replaced two existing bridges and connects Hai Chau district to Son Tra and Ngu Hanh Son districts and the two banks of the Han River. The bridge is a continuous cable-stayed bridge with a total length of approximately 750 meters, with main span of 230 meters. The width of the deck is 34.5 meters and consists of six 4.75 meter wide traffic lanes, two 2.5-meter wide pedestrian footpaths and a central 5.0-meter wide separation lane. The center tower/pylon is 145 meters high, V-shaped, tilted 12 degrees to the west, with elevator and viewing platform at the top. The total cost of the project is $87 million (P3.6 billion).

The bridge was designed by a Finnish consultant and constructed by a Vietnamese contractor.  Construction was supervised by a joint venture of two Filipino consulting firms: Angel Lazaro and Associates International (ALAI) and DCCD Engineering Corp. (DCCD), with BK-ECC of Vietnam as subconsultant. The following Filipino engineers were directly involved:  Carlito Magaso as Project Manager, Rico Bulan as Bridge Structural Engineer and Francis Domingo as Bridge Inspector.  Home office support was provided by Michael Reyes of DCCD and me.

The involvement of ALAI and DCCD in Vietnam started sometime in 2009 when a Filipino engineer working in Vietnam with an American consulting firm contacted me regarding a possible bridge consultancy opportunity, also in Danang.  ALAI submitted a proposal for that project but was not selected.

In 2010, the same Filipino engineer again contacted me for another bridge consultancy opportunity in Danang, the Tran Thi Ly Cable-Stay Bridge. The ALAI-DCCD joint venture was formed, and partnered with a Vietnamese consulting firm BK-ECC. With ALAI-DCCD as lead firm, and BK-ECC as subconsultant, the associated firms submitted technical and financial proposals for the project, which was subsequently evaluated as the highest ranking.

In August 2010, ALAI-DCCD was awarded the contract for construction supervision services of the Tran Thi Ly Bridge. I signed the contract in behalf of the joint venture with the Danang Public Works Department in 2010. Construction started in April 2010 and was completed in March 2013, ahead of schedule.

In addition to the Tran Thi Ly Bridge, ALAI also recently completed (May 2013) the detailed design and construction supervision of the retrofitting of the Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge in Bangladesh. ALAI was the lead consultant with British and Bangladesh firms as subconsultants of ALAI.

The bridge started cracking immediately after construction and did not stop. The scope of work of ALAI was to determine the cause of the cracking and design the remedial measures. ALAI started its services in March 2008. ALAI submitted its final report and retrofitting plans and documents in August 2008. However, construction did not start until 2011.

The bridge is 4.8-kilometers long with four vehicular lanes and one railway lane. The bridge is composed of a post-tensioned box girder deck, which needed to be analyzed using finite element analysis. The original cost of the bridge was $800 million (P34 billion). The cost of retrofitting was $30 million (P1.2 billion).

The original bridge was completed in 1998, with a British firm as consultant, and a Korean firm as contractor. When consulted about the cracking, the original consultant denied anything wrong about the bridge, claiming cracking in concrete is normal. A subsequent study by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), done in 2006, found design deficiencies. The ALAI project was the result of these studies, to determine once and for all the cause of the cracking and the remedial measures. In effect, a Filipino consultant was engaged to review the work of the British consultant, Korean contractor and Bangladeshi University.

In association with Afghan consulting firms, ALAI as lead consultant is also undertaking the construction supervision of the Bagramy-Sapary Road in Afghanistan. This is a 50-kilometer concrete road costing $50 million (P2.1 billion). The project is ongoing and is scheduled to be completed in 2015. The road was designed by an American consulting firm.

I, as managing partner of ALAI, am the sole signatory to the contracts for these projects with the governments of Bangladesh and Afghanistan. These projects were procured and completed without any assistance from the Philippine government. The successful procurement and completion of these projects is a testament to the competence and capability of the Filipino consultant. It is ironic that this capability is recognized internationally but not in the Philippines where much smaller and simpler projects are being done by foreign consultants, with only minor participation by Filipinos.  Unfortunately, official government policy, rules and regulations make it virtually impossible for Filipinos to be selected as principal or lead consultants for major infrastructure projects and foreign-assisted projects in the Philippines.

Projects like these enhance the international image of the Philippines. They also earn foreign currency. It is a testimony to the capabilities of the Philippines as a country, and not just as an exporter of individual Filipinos who work for companies of other countries. Surely, endeavours like these deserve the support of the Philippine government.

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Dr. Angel L. Lazaro III is a member-academician of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) Philippines. He holds a BS Civil Engineering degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman, an MA, MS Engineering and Ph.D. degrees from Princeton University. A professor and former dean of the College of Engineering at De La Salle University and former MWSS administrator, he is presently the managing partner of Angel Lazaro and Associates International (ALAI), Consulting Engineers. Contact ALL III at [email protected].