Western Road opens up development opportunities

(Baonghean) - The Tay Nghe An route has been under construction since 2010. Up to now, only the roadbed has been completed, but it has contributed effectively to helping the villagers of the border communes including the three districts of Tuong Duong, Ky Son, and Que Phong gradually escape poverty.

Since the Tay Nghe An road section passing through Huoi Tu commune, Ky Son district was asphalted with nearly 30 km connecting to Muong Xen town, the life of the Mong people here has been increasingly improved. Mr. Ho Giong Xanh in Huoi Dun village confided: "Previously, this road was muddy, it took a whole day to ride a motorbike to Muong Xen town, but now it only takes more than 30 minutes to get there. With the road, my family borrowed over 200 million VND to buy a car to transport raw materials for people to build houses, transporting green squash and taro to town for consumption for people...". In Huoi Dun village, the center of Huoi Tu commune, now shops have sprung up bustlingly, not only serving people in the commune, but also serving goods and necessities for neighboring communes such as My Ly, Muong Long, Keng Du, Dooc May...

Tay Nghe An route through Nhon Mai commune (Tuong Duong) has opened to traffic.

In Pha Xac village, people used to grow a lot of corn, squash, and taro, but when the consumption season came, the output was "blocked" because traders were fed up with having to go through the "painful" path to buy. Now that there is a road running through the village, corn, squash, and taro are all consumed. "Next year, my family will open more acreage to grow squash and corn" - that is the sentiment of Mr. Cu Phai Da about the changes in his hometown. Chairman of the People's Committee of Huoi Tu commune, Mr. Ly Chia Chu could not hide his joy: The Huoi Tu - Muong Xen road used to be only used in the dry season, but now, rain or shine, it is possible to exchange and trade goods. The Tay Nghe An road helps Huoi Tu gradually escape poverty. In 2010, the commune's herd of cows was less than 2,000, but in 2014 there were over 5,000, nearly 100 hectares of corn, 15 hectares of squash, 10 hectares of taro... Since Tay Nghe An road passed through, Huoi Tu has had the conditions to transport construction materials for infrastructure, such as building new systems of high-rise secondary schools and primary schools, medical stations, and recently Huoi Tu has also received grid electricity.

Passing the unfinished construction roads, we arrived at Nhon Mai commune, Tuong Duong district. Nhon Mai is a Vietnam - Laos border commune, over 100 km away from the center of Tuong Duong district. To trade with the outside, in the past, the only way for the officials and people of Nhon Mai was to go by boat across the Ban Ve Hydropower Reservoir, and had to pay a fare of 120,000 - 150,000 VND/trip. That difficulty led to the commune having no market, and the agricultural products, pigs, chickens, and cows raised and produced by the people were very difficult to sell; the lives of the people of Nhon Mai for many years were tied to poverty and backwardness. Now, Tay Nghe An road passes through the area, Nhon Mai has a road for the first time.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Nam, a worker driving an excavator on the Tay Nghe An road, said: “When the excavator was working on the section passing through Nhon Mai commune, people from neighboring villages in Na Hi stopped all their work to watch the “iron block” that could “grab” the soil. They were happy to know that there was a road going through the commune…”. Because there was no road, people traveled mainly by boat on the river, so in previous years the whole Nhon Mai commune had no bicycles or motorbikes. Now returning to Nhon Mai, we saw motorbikes running over the Na Hi suspension bridge, and shops were built close to the commune center.

Ms. Lo Thi Lam in Nhon Mai village said: "Previously, going to get necessities by boat along Nam Non river to Hoa Binh - Tuong Duong town (both waterway and road, nearly 100 km) was very difficult. Now, riding a motorbike on Tay Nghe An road to Tri Le commune of Que Phong district to get goods is only 60 km, both close and less costly." Mr. Luong Van Minh, a good farmer in Xa Mat village said: "The hardest part is that every time we sell buffalo, cows, pigs, Nhon Mai people have to "build rafts" to transport buffalo and cows down Nam Non river to Hoa Binh town. Now, traders from Tri Le (Que Phong), Muong Xen town (Ky Son) drive all the way to Nhon Mai to buy buffalo and cows, which is very convenient."

Although the route has just been opened, mainly as a dirt road, this route has been very useful in helping people develop their economy. From a place where products are difficult to sell, Nhon Mai people have now started to get into the habit of producing goods. In 2009, the whole commune only had about 300 buffaloes and cows, now the whole commune has over 2,000 buffaloes and cows, some households have boldly raised them in the direction of goods such as Mr. Luong Van Thuyen in Xa Mat village who raises over 10 cows. Many families also invest in raising traditional black pigs to sell to traders for holidays and Tet... Nhon Mai also takes advantage of the natural advantages of cool weather and climate all year round, and soil very suitable for growing high-value crops such as taro, planning hundreds of hectares of land for concentrated raw material forestation.

The 186 km long Tay Nghe An route passes through 3 districts, ending at Tri Le commune, Que Phong district. It is expected that by June 30, 2015, the asphalt will be completed and put into use. Cars and vehicles can pass through these 3 remote districts in just about 2 hours. The important thing is that Tay Nghe An route will be upgraded to a National Highway, connecting directly with Thanh Hoa province, creating a complete traffic network that opens up a bright picture for socio-economic development and serves the work of ensuring national defense and security along the western border of Nghe An. Thus, this route not only meets the desire of the people to have "roads and paths", but also opens up new development opportunities...

Article and photos:Van Truong