Expedite the upgrading of the left bank dike of the Lam River.

(Baonghean) - The project to upgrade the Ta Lam dike section from Nam Dan to Rao Dung, extending to Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen, Nghi Loc districts and Vinh City, is expected to ensure the safety of production and daily life for people in the areas along the Lam River. The project is currently under construction with a plan to be completed before June 2016...

At the Ta Lam dike section between Vinh City and Hung Loi commune (Hung Nguyen district), workers, vehicles, and machinery are busily engaged in construction. Mr. Tran Van Thanh, the construction team leader of Company 185 - Brigade 12, is directing workers pouring concrete for the wave-breaking wall. He stated: "Our team, consisting of over 40 people divided into three groups, is focusing on pouring concrete for the wave-breaking wall with a work schedule of three shifts per day. To date, we have poured concrete for 6 km out of 12 km of the wave-breaking wall. We expect to complete this project by the end of August 2015." Mr. Luong Dinh Son, a technical officer of Company 185, added: "The construction unit, working from Km 88 to Km 104, started construction at the end of 2014 and has now completed over 70% of the work, including important items such as embankment construction and dike widening." Currently, rollers are compacting the embankment body, and it is expected that the compaction will be completed by the end of July 2015, after which grass will be planted on the embankment slopes. The contract stipulated a 24-month construction period, but it is now expected to be completed by August 2015 (more than a year ahead of schedule).

The Ta Lam dike section passing through Nam Dan was constructed by Hoang Son Co., Ltd.

Right next door, the machinery and equipment of CDC Consulting, Design and Construction Joint Stock Company are also operating vigorously. Mr. Tran Van Nam, a roller operator, said: "The heavy rain these past few days has created good conditions for us to compact and level the subsided areas. The construction unit is working on the section from Km 84+300 to Km 88+300, which is a critical section of the dike, requiring concrete reinforcement of the dike slope. To speed up the construction progress, the unit has mobilized 3 concrete mixers to operate continuously. To date, 520 meters of concrete (830 cubic meters of concrete) have been poured for the slope, and other machinery has filled in 100,000 cubic meters of soil to reinforce the dike. As the compaction progresses, the company organizes the planting of grass. In particular, the unit has completed the local road through the dike body to facilitate people's access and flood shelter when needed." Mr. Ho Sy Son, Deputy Director of CDC Consulting, Design and Construction Joint Stock Company, added: The company is mobilizing over 80 workers, along with machinery and equipment, working overtime, striving to complete the project by August 10, 2015.

For the largest section from Km 60 to Km 75 (15 km), the construction unit has mobilized nearly 20 excavators, rollers, and bulldozers, divided into 3 construction teams. Currently, 10 km of the dike body has been reinforced and compacted. The contractor is constructing stone embankments in vulnerable areas near the riverbank in Hung Linh commune (Hung Nguyen district) and Van Dien commune (Nam Dan district). For the remaining 5 km of dike, passing through Hong Long, Xuan Hoa communes and Nam Dan town (Nam Dan district), the unit is using the time to focus on removing the weathered layer of the old dike and simultaneously mobilizing soil to reinforce the dike body, avoiding sudden rain, storms, and floods. It is expected that the dike reinforcement will be completed around August 15, 2015, while other items such as riverbank embankment and grass planting will continue.

Previously, many sections of the Ta Lam dike were degraded, with low and weak embankments that were inadequate for flood protection. The project, which is being urgently completed and put into use, has brought great joy to the people living along the dike. Mr. Tran Nam, from Hamlet 5, Hung Linh commune, said: "With the dike reinforced and widened like this, we feel safer when floodwaters rise." Many residents outside the dike in Hung Linh (Hung Nguyen) also shared: "Once the project is completed, if flooding occurs, people will have more convenience in avoiding floods on the dike because the dike surface has been widened, allowing them to erect temporary shelters and provide refuge for buffaloes and cows..."

The project to upgrade the Ta Lam dike section from Nam Dan to Rao Dung, extending to Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen, Nghi Loc districts and Vinh City, has a total investment of over 230 billion VND, with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development as the investor. The investment is for dike repair and upgrading, with a design scale of level II, a dike length of nearly 25 km, and an existing dike cross-section of 3 meters, now widened to 6 meters. Construction began in September 2014, with a 24-month construction contract. The investor has actively urged the contractor to accelerate progress; after 9 months of construction, over 60% of the work has been completed (exceeding the target by over 15%). Currently, the investor is continuing to direct the construction units to concentrate equipment, machinery, and personnel, working three shifts a day to speed up progress, especially for units working on key points such as the riverbank embankment along over 3 km in Hung Linh commune (Hung Nguyen) and Van Dien commune (Nam Dan).

According to the plan, the contractors are striving to complete the project before June 2016 (approximately 3 months ahead of schedule). The Ta Lam dike section from Nam Dan to Rao Dung, extending to Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen, Nghi Loc districts and Vinh City, is expected to ensure flood and storm protection, safeguard lives and property, facilitate production development, and stabilize the lives of people in the region; it will also serve as a local road along the river.

Van Truong