Speed up the progress of the project to upgrade the Northern irrigation system
(Baonghean) - The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development directed units and contractors to speed up the progress of the project to restore and upgrade the Northern Nghe An irrigation system (JICA2) to provide irrigation water for the 2017 summer-autumn crop.
Mr. Hoang Nghia Hieu - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said: The project to restore and upgrade the Northern Nghe An irrigation system was approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Decision No. 1929/QD.BNN-TCTL dated August 14, 2012 with a total investment of over VND 5,705 billion, borrowing ODA capital from Japan (JICA). The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghe An is the investor of component 1: Restoring and upgrading the Northern Nghe An irrigation system; the total investment of component 1 is VND 5,205 billion. The project's goal is to ensure stable irrigation for 27,656 hectares of agricultural land; create a water supply for industry of 1.89m3/s and for domestic use of 1.59m3/s (900,000 people) for 5 districts of Do Luong, Yen Thanh, Dien Chau, Quynh Luu and Hoang Mai town. Upgrading and expanding Dien Thanh sluice to drain and reduce flooding for 1,920 hectares of low-lying areas in Yen Thanh and Dien Chau districts.
The entire component 1 is divided into 26 packages. The construction contract for the first 8 packages was signed on December 25, 2015 with a total value of 440.6 billion VND, reaching over 85% of the progress. According to the contract, the first 8 packages will be completed from January to June 2018. From the beginning of 2017, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Project Management Board of Agriculture and Rural Development coordinated with relevant agencies to bid for the second package.
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| Construction of upgrading KN 18 canal in Quynh Thanh commune (Quynh Luu). Photo: Van Truong |
Currently, the second phase of the bidding packages is being actively constructed. At the KN 18 canal in Quynh Thanh commune (Quynh Luu), human resources and machinery have been increased and construction is being carried out urgently. Mr. Nguyen Duc Cuong, a technical officer of Quynh Anh Company Limited, said: “The company's bidding package is worth 30 billion VND, mainly constructing on-site concrete pouring items, upgrading canal banks... with a total length of 7.4 km of canals. Immediately after receiving the bidding package in May 2017, we mobilized over 50 workers, along with a system of excavators and rollers divided into 3 teams for construction, each team has 12-15 workers focusing on steel making, concrete pouring... Up to this point, the construction has reached over 30% of the volume, according to the 2-year contract put into use, we strive to exceed the schedule by 2-3 months".
Despite the hot weather, workers and machinery are working hard on the Khe Khuon canal system projects passing through Thai Son and Quang Son communes (Do Luong). A representative of Trung Anh Construction Joint Stock Company shared: “We are focusing on constructing the bridge project across Thai Son commune to facilitate people’s travel. Specifically, we have completed 2 bridge abutments and are casting beams. It is expected that 3/5 of the bridges will be put into use in 2017. The Khe Khuon canal project is a joint venture with 3 construction units with a total capital of 98 billion VND. According to the plan, after completing the bridge system, the units will focus on constructing canals and pumping stations, completing the construction as soon as possible to ensure irrigation water for the people.”
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| The canal system through Quang Son commune (Do Luong) constructed by Hung Dai Thanh company has been put into use this summer-autumn crop. Photo: Van Truong |
Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thao - Director of the Management Board of the Northern Nghe An Irrigation System Restoration and Upgrade Project said: The construction contract for the second phase of the project includes 9 packages worth 834 billion VND, implemented since the beginning of 2017. According to the contract, the above 9 packages will be completed within 2 years, and so far the volume of implementation has met the requirements of the project. The current difficulty is that we have to both construct and provide irrigation water, which significantly affects the progress. The Management Board directed the construction units at some locations to build diversion channels for construction, or prioritize construction in the canal sections of the pumping station, because the pumping station often supplies water in batches, and construction can be carried out when the pumping stops. Directing construction units to prepare materials such as formwork, steel, cement, stone, etc. to be ready for massive construction after the water cut-off schedule, construction after the summer-autumn rice harvest from September to December. In addition, for the works of the first package, such as section K12 +985 Vinh Thanh commune, Yen Thanh, due to the geology near the mountains, water flow caused erosion of 3-4 meters of the canal bank pavement. The investor has a plan to make a wall with geotextile covered with crushed stone for a sustainable solution.
To ensure the progress and quality of the project, in addition to international supervision from Japan, the Project Management Board also has its own supervisory team to urge contractors to construct and inspect the quality of the project, while ensuring quality and aesthetics in the construction stage. Taking advantage of favorable weather, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development directed the Project Management Board to actively urge contractors to speed up the progress, and carry out construction in a "rolling" manner, completing as needed so that the canals can be effective in irrigating the summer-autumn crop.
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| Dien Thanh culvert, Dien Chau has completed the concrete bottom slab construction. Photo: Van Truong. |
According to the report of the monitoring unit of the Project Management Board of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; currently, the construction of Dien Thanh - Dien Chau culvert has implemented a number of items: Building 2 green embankments in the downstream, completing the concrete pouring of the bottom slab of 21,000m3concrete, poured over 100m3Concrete turbine, test piling at bridgehead, speeding up progress of some items before storm season.
Recently, Mr. Dinh Viet Hong - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and the working delegation inspected the project site, acknowledged and highly appreciated the efforts of the project management board, localities and construction units during the project implementation process. At the same time, the project management board was also required to mobilize maximum forces to supervise the project, urging contractors to speed up construction at favorable times. The project management board, construction units and Bac Irrigation Company Limited discussed in detail to ensure a suitable water cut-off schedule for construction. Units that are investors and supervision units need to actively check the quality, ensuring the sustainability of the project.
Van Truong
