National Assembly Delegates of Nghe An Province agreed to adjust the investment policy for a reservoir project in one of the driest areas in the country.

Panorama of the working session on the morning of May 30 at Dien Hong Hall, National Assembly House. Photo: Quang Khanh

The Ka Pet Reservoir Project in Ham Thuan Nam District, Binh Thuan Province is a national key project that the National Assembly has decided on investment policy in Resolution No. 93/2019/QH14 dated November 26, 2019, due to the arising criteria for changing the purpose of use of 162.55 hectares of special-use forest under the authority of the National Assembly.

The total investment of the project is 585,647 billion VND with the implementation period from 2019 to 2024. After the National Assembly issued Resolution No. 93/2019/QH14, the Prime Minister assigned the People's Committee of Binh Thuan province to be the investor and implement the project in Document No. 541/TTg-NN dated May 14, 2020. However, immediately after the investment policy was approved, the Covid-19 epidemic interrupted the project implementation for 2 years.

National Assembly deputies of Nghe An delegation at the working session on the morning of May 30 at Dien Hong Hall, National Assembly House. Photo: Quang Khanh

The Project area is one of the driest areas in the country, with low rainfall, requiring a reservoir to store water. Since 2020, due to frequent droughts and widespread water shortages, Binh Thuan province has had to cut about 50% of its agricultural production area, greatly affecting people's lives and the local socio-economic development goals.

Speaking at the discussion, delegate Thai Thi An Chung - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An highly agreed with the Government's proposal and the verification report of the National Assembly's Committee on Science, Technology and Environment to adjust the investment policy of the Ka Pet reservoir project in Ham Thuan Nam district, Binh Thuan province.

Recalling the report “Binh Thuan: People dig wells in the middle of the river to find water”, broadcast on Vietnam National Assembly Television on May 14, 2023, reflected the situation of the Dinh River, the largest river in Ham Can commune, Ham Thuan Nam district, which has dried up after several months without rain. However, this is still the only place where people in village 1 can dig wells to find water for daily use.

“The image of people struggling to find water under the scorching sun really moved me. As someone born and raised in the Central region, which is always dry and scorching hot, I understand that the Ka Pet reservoir project is the biggest wish of the people here so that they no longer have to worry about water for daily life and production,” said delegate Thai Thi An Chung.

Delegate Thai Thi An Chung - Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An spoke at the working session on the morning of May 30 at Dien Hong Hall, National Assembly House. Photo: Quang Khanh

The Ka Pet reservoir project was approved by the National Assembly in 2019. The People's Committee of Binh Thuan province was assigned by the Prime Minister to be the investor and implement the project from May 2020. However, the project was implemented right at the time when the Covid-19 epidemic appeared and broke out. Like the whole country, Binh Thuan had to focus on epidemic prevention and control, leading to the project being behind schedule. Therefore, the delegate of Nghe An delegation agreed with the need to adjust the investment policy so that the project could be implemented soon.

The project's delay has led to changes in the total investment due to price fluctuations, additional technical solutions to ensure construction safety, and implementation of new legal regulations. According to the Government's report, the total investment of the project after adjustment is more than 874 billion VND. With the remaining capital after adjustment, the People's Council of Binh Thuan province issued Resolution No. 06 dated May 25, 2022, allocating more than 368,856 billion VND for the project from the provincial budget reserve fund for the period 2021 - 2025.

Therefore, delegate Thai Thi An Chung proposed that the National Assembly allow the extension of the implementation period and disbursement of the 2016 Central budget reserve fund of the Project (for the capital of 47 billion VND) until December 31, 2023 so that Binh Thuan province has more resources to implement the project.

National Assembly deputies at the working session on the morning of May 30 at Dien Hong Hall, National Assembly House. Photo: Quang Khanh

Regarding the proposal to allow the application of a special mechanism to implement the project, the Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An province said: The Pa Ket reservoir project is an important national project whose investment policy was decided by the National Assembly due to the criteria for changing the purpose of using 162.55 hectares of special-use forest. However, after adjusting the total investment, the total capital of the project is 874 billion VND, only equivalent to a group B project, a level II construction item.

“To ensure the project implementation time, I agree with the proposal of the Government and the National Assembly's Committee on Science, Technology and Environment to request the National Assembly to assign the People's Committee of Binh Thuan province to decide on investment and organize implementation according to the order, procedures and authority to implement group A projects managed by the provincial level according to the law on public investment and authorize the National Assembly Standing Committee to consider and decide on issues arising during the time the National Assembly is not in session,” said delegate Thai Thi An Chung.