Managing and building combat structures is an important task, aiming to consolidate the posture, enhance the country's defence potential and strength. That is also the key political task of the Engineering Corps in general and the Department of Defence Construction in particular, which has been implemented with many synchronous and appropriate solutions.

Over the past years, the Department of Defence Construction has closely followed military and defence directions and tasks, proactively researched and proposed to the Command of the Engineering Corps to advise the Ministry of National Defence to perform well the state management on defence works nationwide and well perform the leading function of building, managing, protecting and preserving military combat structures throughout the Military. The Department has coordinated with relevant agencies, advised on the development and promulgation of legal documents and economic and technical indicators in this field, creating a favourable legal corridor for direction and implementation. Besides, it has participated with ministries, branches and localities in surveying, making and supplementing and adjusting plans for construction of defence and combat structures throughout the Military and the country, meeting the requirements of strengthening defence and security posture and socio-economic development. Faced with the increasing demands for defence and combat structures, the Department has seriously evaluated technical designs and estimation of works; given instructions and direction for construction, renovation, and maintenance of structures, etc. To date, hundreds of defence and combat projects designed and constructed under the Department’s advise have been completed and put into use according to combat plans of training and combat readiness with confidentiality, safety, quality, progress and meeting technical and tactical requirements, contributing to building, consolidating, and strengthening the military posture at all levels, especially in border, sea, and island areas, key strategic directions, and enhancing the combat power of the armed forces, the country's defence capabilities, meeting the requirements of Fatherland protection.

Delegates attending the Determined to Win Emulation movement in the 2019-2024 period of the Department of Defence Construction

Currently, the cause of consolidating national defence and protecting the Fatherland in the new situation poses very high requirements on the entire Military in general and the Department in particular. Projects that need to be built increase in scale and quantity, with increasingly high and strict requirements on structure, technique and military specificity. The construction sites are spread across the country, with diverse and complex topographic, geological and hydrological conditions. Most projects are located in remote, border, and island areas where weather, climate, and natural disasters are complicated,, significantly impacting its task implementation. Meanwhile, its high skilled human resources are inadequate, and there remain difficulties in supply work, etc. In order to successfully complete its assigned functions and tasks in the above circumstances, the Department advocates continuing to comprehensively deploy all aspects of work, focusing on improving the capacity in advising, appraising, designing, supervising, management and use of combat works.

Implementing that policy, the Department continues to thoroughly grasp the resolutions and directives of higher echelons, especially the 8th Central Resolution (13^th tenure) on the Strategy for Fatherland protection in the new situation and military and defence strategies, as a basis for improving the capacity to research, propose, and proactively perform the advisory function for the Corps’ Command and leaders and commanders at all levels, especially the strategic one, regarding direction  in building combat structures. It will continue to closely coordinate with competent authorities to review, research, advise, propose the making and promulgation of legal documents on management of construction and preservation of defence structures, in accordance with the laws, especially the Law on Management and Protection of Defence Structures and Military Zones 2023 which will come into effect on 01 January 2025.  At the same time, it continues to advise on the legalisation of management and investment in the construction of combat works; research, advise and propose the making of investment plans for the construction of defence works and combat works in medium and long terms in accordance with the strategic defence posture in the new situation. To enhance the implementation of plans, the Department strengthens the work of advising, directing, inspecting and urging agencies, units and localities to adhere to regulations and rules on management of investment and construction of combat projects, focusing on completing large-scale projects with high tactical value; resolutely prevent scattered investments, slow progress, inefficiencies, and wastefulness.

In addition, the Department continues to pursue the goal of: "Secrecy - safety - quality - progress – cost-effectiveness" in the construction of combat works; requires functional departments to closely follow the practice, strengthen coordination with relevant agencies and units in surveying, evaluating, and making plans of force deployment and effective construction. In implementing the projects, it focuses on directing and improving the quality of geological and topographic surveys, technical design, camouflage; and seriously follows construction technical procedures. Regularly brief about safety regulations in construction, attaching importance to ensuring safety for personnel, equipment, vehicles and secrecy. Moreover, it promotes and improves the quality of verification and appraisal of technical designs - total estimates of combat works; advises and proposes to the superiors the empowerment to agencies and units in managing, using, preserving, and maintaining projects in accordance with regulations, standards, and economic - technical norms, suitable for each type and group of projects, so that combat works are built with good technical, tactical, sustainable requirements and used effectively and appropriately, meeting the requirements of Military building and Fatherland protection in both immediate and long terms.

In the time to come, based on the direction of higher echelons, the Department will consolidate its organisation and staffing; develop a sharp-thinking and highly capable staff, meeting both immediate and long-term tasks. Accordingly, along with strengthening education to raise awareness, responsibility, political bravery and will for cadres and technical staff, it focuses on making plan for recruiting, training, using its human resources to make it balanced in age, major, and standardized with suitable structure. To achieve that goal, it selects personnel with good moral qualities, good qualification, and a high sense of responsibility to send for training at military and civilian schools for further improvement. Besides, it strengthens training, especially on-the job training to improve their professional qualifications. The training content is focused on new and inconsistent issues, such as: new construction technology, new material technology, supervision consulting, bidding, specialised software, etc. In addition, it also holds training courses on combat construction skills for agencies and units throughout the Military to promptly learn from experience, and enhance the capability of commandants and project managers and technical staff at all levels in management, planning, surveying, design, construction, protection, maintenance and preservation of combat works, contributing to improving the quality of construction work, ensuring technical requirements, confidentiality and safety.

Work discussion

In order to continue to improve the quality of research, survey, appraisal and construction of combat projects, the Department proactively researches and proposes to the Engineering Corps and the Ministry of National Defence to acquire new and modern equipment. Currently, most combat projects are built in remote areas, borders, islands, rugged mountainous terrain, and complex geology where transportations are extremely difficult. Meanwhile, the construction machinery of the units supplemented by self-procured sources or equipped by higher echelons is still lacking, not synchronised, and even outdated, hence failing to meet the requirements of mechanisation in construction. To improve the quality and progress of construction, on the one hand, the Department focuses on guiding and directing military engineering units to purchase additional small construction machinery and gradually mechanise the construction. On the other hand, it continues to advise higher echelons to purchase and allocate specialised equipment for the units to construct underground and tunnel projects, large-aperture construction machinery, and modern machinery and equipment for checking construction quality, etc. At the same time, it promotes research, initiatives, technical improvements, and applies new technology to its task performance. In addition, to enhance its performance, the Department promotes the application of science and technology in surveying and constructing projects; fosters digital transformation in professional work.

Fully aware of the position, importance, specificity, and high requirements of the task of building combat works in preparing for the people's war to defend the Fatherland, the Department of Defence Construction continues to strive to enhance its overall capacity, promote the traditions of the heroic Engineering Corps in the new situation, and together with the entire army, successfully completing all assigned tasks.

Senior Colonel NGUYEN DUC TAI, Director of the Department