The effectiveness of investment in irrigation projects in Nghe An.
(Baonghean.vn) - In order to ensure water security, protect agricultural production, serve people's lives, and ensure safety during the rainy season and floods, Nghe An has attracted many sources of funding from JICA projects, World Bank (WB) loans, etc. Currently, the drainage canal system, reservoirs, and dikes are being urgently completed; some projects have initially yielded positive results.
Focus on upgrading reservoirs.
Nghe An is a province where this happens regularly every year.floodFlooding has resulted in a large number of damaged and degraded irrigation works. Many reservoirs and critical dikes and drainage canals are of low quality, and the structures have not met their flood control objectives, thus posing many risks of incidents such as dam and dike breaches.
Meanwhile, the need to repair and upgrade the irrigation infrastructure to meet flood control requirements demands significant funding. In recent years, by integrating funds from various sources, Nghe An province has gradually improved its irrigation system to combat floods.
Regarding the reservoir system, Nghe An has over 1,000 reservoirs, but many are severely degraded, many dams are unsafe, earth dams do not meet standard cross-sections, and poor dam construction quality causes strong seepage or bubbling within the dam body, seepage on both sides of the dam abutments, formation of termite nests within the dam body causing landslides or slope failure, erosion of the dam slope, and cracks within the dam body…
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| Construction of Khe Lau reservoir in Nghia Thuan commune (Thai Hoa town) using World Bank loan funds. Photo: Van Truong |
In recent years, Nghe An province has been actively building and upgrading its reservoir system. From 2018 to the present, using funds borrowed from the World Bank (WB), Nghe An has been implementing the construction and upgrading of 33 reservoirs and dams.
Of this, the World Bank contributed over 490 billion VND, and the provincial budget provided 27 billion VND in counterpart funding. Phase 1 has completed the construction of 13 critical reservoirs such as Khe Gang, Hoc Nghet, Khe Dung, and Khe San reservoirs (Quynh Luu district), Khe Dua reservoir (Nghia Dan district), Ke Sat and Don Hung reservoirs (Yen Thanh district)... For the remaining 20 reservoirs, the flood control components, spillways, water intake structures, and control buildings have been completed, with the goal of putting them into operation by the end of 2020.
The completed reservoirs have been storing water and effectively controlling floods.
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| The Dien Thanh sluice gate (Dien Chau) reduces flooding in Yen Thanh and Dien Chau districts. Photo: Tran Chau. |
Expedite the progress of the project to restore and upgrade the irrigation system in North Nghe An.
Nghe An province is also actively accelerating the progress of the North Nghe An Irrigation System Restoration and Upgrade Project, constructing irrigation and flood drainage canals. This project was approved for investment 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 5,705 billion VND, financed by Japanese ODA loans (JICA). The Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is the investor for Component 1: Restoration and upgrading of the North Nghe An irrigation system, with a total investment of 5,205 billion VND.
The project aims to ensure stable irrigation for 27,656 hectares of agricultural land; and to create a water source for industry with a depth of 1.89m.3/s and living 1.59m3/s (900,000 inhabitants) for the districts of Do Luong, Yen Thanh, Dien Chau, Quynh Luu and Hoang Mai town. In addition, upgrade and expand the Dien Thanh sluice gate to drain water and reduce flooding for 1,920 hectares of low-lying areas in Yen Thanh and Dien Chau districts; focus on dredging the Vach Bac drainage canal system to reduce flooding…
The project is being implemented in a phased manner, with work being done and resources being utilized as needed.
Many items have now been completed (reaching over 70% of the total project volume); the main canal system and field canals have been built, and construction is currently focused on further development.Ba Ra - Do Luong main damirrigation canalBa Ra Do Luong, dredging the Vach Bac drainage canal system.
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| Do Luong spillway. Photo: Tran Chau |
The North Nghe An Irrigation System Restoration and Upgrade Project was closely monitored and achieved high efficiency. The reinforced canal system prevented water loss, and significantly reduced the burden of water supply for crops in the beneficiary area.
In particular, the Dien Thanh and Dien Chau sluice gate projects, put into operation in 2019, have made a positive contribution to effective flood control. Specifically, they ensure drainage for the Bung River basin, covering an area of 332.13 km².2; preventing saltwater intrusion and preserving freshwater to provide irrigation water for 15,000 hectares in the upstream area of Dien Chau and Yen Thanh districts; preventing saltwater intrusion and creating conditions for intensive cultivation on approximately 26,500 hectares affected by salinity, ensuring waterway traffic through the sluice gate.
Over the years, Nghe An province has integrated various funding sources to reinforce and repair the Ta Lam dike; replace critical sluice gates; repair and build new embankment systems to protect the banks; raise and widen the dike; and the annual investment has gradually reduced the number of critical sections of the dike.
As the upgrade of the Ta Lam dike section from Nam Dan to Rao Dung, Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen, Nghi Loc districts and Vinh city (corresponding to K55+000 to K104+200) has been completed, the dike crest elevation ensures protection against flood levels corresponding to a 0.6% frequency, and the dike surface is 6m wide. This is the project to repair and upgrade the dike line.Ta Lam dikeConstruction has been completed in Thanh Chuong district, from K18+000 to K25+546.
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| The Yen Thanh drainage canal system was built with a loan from JICA Japan. Photo: Van Truong |
The Department has directed the Project Management Board to actively urge contractors to accelerate progress and construct reservoirs, canals, etc., ensuring timely completion. Currently, the large irrigation and drainage canal system and reservoirs in the province have been invested in quite comprehensively, meeting both irrigation and flood drainage needs while ensuring reservoir safety. In the future, the province will continue to attract foreign and domestic investment to further improve the irrigation system.
