Binh Duong welcomes visitors with tattered gate Tuoitrenews The Binh Duong Welcome Gate is seen in Thuan An Town, Binh Duong June 10, 2013. Tuoi Tre The million-dollar welcome gate Binh Duong built just over a year ago at the province’s gateway with Ho Chi Minh City now looks as if it has just survived an earthquake, with the main part of the construction severely deteriorated. The “Binh Duong Welcome Gate”, consuming a massive investment of VND40 billion (US$1.92 million), was inaugurated on August 30, 2010, with two main parts including a steel structure and a surrounding lawn. The main part, called “Kite full of wind”, consisted of a steel pillar and a combination of steel bars symbolizing the two wings of a kite in full wind, or the province’s aspiration for development. But in 2012, the wings were removed, and replaced by a big globe located on top of the pillar. The globe, made of a number of steel bars and covered by hundreds of reflective plastic pieces, carries a big “BINH DUONG” text in red. However, as observed on Monday, nearly all of the plastic pieces have fallen off the globe, revealing its steel frame. After just a year of being exposed to the elements, the globe now looks “like a disaster”, according to locals. Asked why a costly construction project funded by the state budget could become so damaged in such a short time period, Nguyen Van Loc, director of the province’s Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, admitted that “the department had not appropriately managed the construction.” The globe was installed by the Becamex IJC, a subsidiary of the Becamex IDC Corp, and the province intended to assign the company to manage it as well, Loc said. “But no official assignment has since been released by either the province’s local government or our department, so the construction was abandoned,” he admitted. Meanwhile, Le Thanh Cung, chairman of the province’s People’s Committee, said he has ordered the globe to be removed and replaced. “The globe was built by the business [Becamex IJC], so it has to take responsibility for the construction’s quality and expense,” he told reporters. As for the huge expense of the welcome gate, Cung said it is not an issue, as the construction followed all of the requirements set by the government. “The two ‘kite wings’ that were removed were not wasted either, because we have reused them for another project,” he said. Cung added that the province will collect feedback from local residents for a new symbolic structure to replace the tattered globe.