Lam River Dam was approved by the Prime Minister in the list of priority projects to implement the Planning for natural disaster prevention, control and irrigation.

This is one of the projects in the list of priority projects issued with Decision No. 145/QD-TTg approving the Plan, policies and solutions to implement the Planning for natural disaster prevention, control and irrigation for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, signed and issued by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang on behalf of the Prime Minister.

Accordingly, Lam River Dam is one of the projects in the list of projects to reduce water levels being implemented on Lam River through Nghe An and Ha Tinh.

The Prime Minister assigned the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Transport, Natural Resources and Environment; and the People's Committees of Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces to implement.

The project is divided into investment phases: 2021 - 2025 and 2026 - 2030, prioritizing the use of capital from the state budget, ODA, and foreign preferential loans.

According to Decision No. 145/QD-TTg, the location, scale, and tasks of the works and projects issued in the attached list, including the Lam River dam, will be calculated, selected, and specifically determined during the process of establishing and approving investment projects in accordance with the provisions of law.

Lam River is the name of the downstream section of Ca River. The total basin area of ​​Ca River is 27,200 km²; of which the area on Vietnamese territory is 17,730 km², accounting for 65.2% of the basin area; the area belonging to Laos is 9,470 km²accounting for 34.8% of the basin area.

The dam project on Lam River has been a long-cherished project of Nghe An to prevent salinity, retain fresh water and improve the environment in the face of saltwater intrusion due to the impact of climate change and rising sea levels affecting production and daily life. The province has held many meetings to discuss financial solutions for implementation.

Currently, on Lam River there is only Do Luong dam - the main project of the Bac Nghe An irrigation system built from 1930 to 1937.

After nearly 8 decades of operation, this irrigation system has seriously degraded, its water supply capacity has decreased, it is unstable, and cannot meet the requirements of agricultural production, people's lives and other economic sectors.

Therefore, in 2016, the project to restore and upgrade the Northern Nghe An Irrigation System, including the Do Luong dam, was implemented with a budget of 5,705 billion VND and was inaugurated at the end of March.

If the Lam River dam is built in the coming period, this will be the second dam on the largest river in Nghe An.

Currently, the dam location has not been determined, however, through research, scientists have previously researched and made specific recommendations.

In the research topic proposing to select the location for the construction of Lam River sluice to prevent salinity, retain fresh water and improve the environment, conducted within the framework of the project: "Prevent salinity, retain fresh water and improve the environment in the downstream of Lam River" implemented by the joint venture of the Vietnam Institute of Water Resources and the Institute of Water Resources Planning, announced in 2018, there were specific recommendations.

According to scientists, the main task of the Lam River sluice is to prevent salinity, retain fresh water, and provide irrigation water for the downstream area of ​​the Ca River in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces.

The project's beneficiary areas include districts: Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen, Nghi Loc, Vinh city, Cua Lo town (Nghe An province); districts: Duc Tho, Nghi Xuan, Hong Linh town (Ha Tinh province).

The project must build a lock to ensure inland waterway traffic for ships entering and leaving the downstream area of ​​Lam River; at the same time, ensure that it does not affect the flood drainage capacity of the Ca River system during the rainy season.

The design consultant has proposed two routes to choose from, including:

- Route 1: Located in Hung Hoa commune, Vinh city. This route is located downstream of Ben Thuy bridge, 5.5 km from the bridge and 14.5 km from Hoi estuary. This is a straight, relatively stable river section, with a river width of about 660 m and a riverbed elevation of about -6.0.

- Route 2: Located in Ben Thuy ward, Vinh city, this route is downstream of Ben Thuy bridge, 0.5 km from the bridge and 19.5 km from Hoi estuary. This is also a straight, relatively stable river section, with a river width of about 1,005 m, and a bottom elevation of about -6.8.

Based on the design consultant's proposal; through research, calculation, review, and evaluation, especially on the sedimentation process in each river section, the change in water depth and flow velocity at any location along the river, scientists recommend that the project should choose route 1, that is, at the location of Hung Hoa commune, Vinh city to build the project.

In the list of priority projects to implement the Planning for natural disaster prevention, control and irrigation for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, Nghe An also has a number of other irrigation works selected for implementation.

Accordingly, in the investment phases: 2021 - 2025 and 2026 - 2030, from the state budget, ODA, foreign preferential loans, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the People's Committee of Nghe An province are assigned to build Thac Muoi lake, an irrigation project in the Giang river basin; increase the capacity of Song Sao lake; upgrade the two irrigation systems of Do Luong and Nam Hung Nghi.