The 68 billion VND flood control dike project is unfinished after 4 years of construction.

(Baonghean.vn) - After more than 4 years of implementation, up to now, more than 3km of flood protection dike in Thanh Yen commune (Thanh Chuong, Nghe An) is still unfinished, making people feel insecure and worried.

The completely eroded dike in Yen Hong village (Thanh Yen commune) is making people nervous and anxious. Photo: Thanh Dinh

The project to upgrade the Luong - Yen - Khai dike in Thanh Chuong district, from K3 + 262 to K6 + 133, part of component 4 of the "WB 5 Natural Disaster Management Project", is designed with a 30m wide dike foot, 5m dike surface, 2 - 2.85m higher than the old dike, capable of preventing floods above alert level 3, invested by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The project consists of 3 packages with a total cost of nearly 68 billion VND, of which the construction and installation part is about 46.6 billion VND.

This is a very practical project in flood prevention in the area considered the flood center, so people are very excited. However, the project has only completed a section from Thanh Khai commune to Yen Thang village (Thanh Yen commune), the rest is unfinished, except for the section from Yen Hong village through Yen Long (Thanh Yen) to Thanh Luong commune that has not been implemented yet.

This unfinished situation not only makes people worried but also hinders their lives and production. Mr. Nguyen Kim Nam - Secretary of Yen Hong village Party cell, Thanh Yen commune, indignantly said: "The dike upgrade project is unfinished, the ground is full of rocks and soil, making it very difficult for people to travel and produce...".

In Yen Hong village, the dyke has eroded to the surface, directly threatening the lives and property of the people not only during the rainy season but also on normal days. Whenever there is a storm warning or heavy rain, the authorities and people of Thanh Yen commune are always worried.

People in Yen Hong hamlet often have to rely on bamboo baskets and rafts when flood season comes. Photo: Dinh Ha

Mr. Le Hong Long - Chairman of Thanh Yen Commune People's Committee shared: "The dike through the area is increasingly degraded, while the project is still unfinished. We have repeatedly reported to the district and province and were told that the capital is being arranged..." Waiting anxiously, people in the communes behind the dike always have to repair basket boats, prepare bamboo rafts and even banana tree rafts to prevent unexpected events when floods occur.

In addition to the long-term unfinishedness, this dike also has many major shortcomings. The design and construction are not suitable for reality. The most obvious is in Yen Phu village. Previously, all rainwater from Ru Dung and the residential area was directed straight into a large ditch. Now the construction unit has rebuilt this old ditch and opened another smaller one to flow into a 2.5 m deep underground sewer.

Because of having to flow around small ditches and sewers, immediately after a rain, a large amount of water stagnates in residential areas, causing local flooding.

A culvert under the dike without a flood protection cover makes the entire flood control project ineffective. Photo: Thanh Dinh

At the meeting with voters and the National Assembly delegation held in the locality at the end of April 2017, the issue was raised by the people. According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Department is actively working with the Department of Planning and Investment and the Department of Finance to continue allocating capital for the project in order to complete the project soon.

Thanh Yen commune leaders said that in the past time, in addition to not being able to continue construction and not having problems resolved, the commune has not seen any organization or individual come directly to work to remove difficulties and speed up the project's progress.

Thanh Dinh