Nghe An proposes to support 3,500 billion VND to fight drought in the South - Hung - Nghi - Vinh city area

Speaking at the conference, the Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee presented solutions to direct the implementation of natural disaster prevention work with 13 specific solutions suitable to the characteristics, situation, people's lives, and production for 3 regions: coastal; midland, plain and highland areas.

After sharing experiences in natural disaster prevention and control, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Nghia Hieu proposed to be supported with about 3,500 billion VND to build drought-resistant works in the Nam - Hung - Nghi - Vinh City area and the Thac Muoi Irrigation Reservoir.

Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee Hoang Nghia Hieu speaks at the Conference. Photo: Thanh Duy

Many rice fields in the Nam - Hung - Nghi region are at risk of being burned. Photo: Phu Huong

In addition, Nghe An also requested financial support to upgrade the system of medium and small irrigation reservoirs that have been damaged and degraded and unsafe. Currently, the province has more than 85 severely damaged reservoirs, of which priority is given to urgent repairs of 39 reservoirs. Financial support is needed to complete unfinished source-generating and irrigation works, including: Completion of Ban Mong Reservoir; Completion of Khe Lai and Vuc Mau Reservoir.

Comrade Hoang Nghia Hieu directed rice rescue in Nghi Loc district on July 18. Photo: Phu Huong

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Nghia Hieu also proposed to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to consider classifying and decentralizing the dike system of Nghe An province; submit to the Government a regulation on coordination with the Lao Government on providing flood information on the Ca River basin on the Lao side so that Nghe An province can promptly respond during the flood season.

Nghe An has an average total water volume of nearly 25.7 billion m3 for many years.^3/year. However, 1,061 irrigation lakes in the area only have a storage capacity of about 537 million m³; 19 hydroelectric reservoirs containing 3 billion m³ water, of which Ban Ve hydroelectric lake is 1.8 billion m³but mainly serves electricity production, water supply for agricultural production and people's lives is insignificant.

Hung Nguyen residents install drought-fighting pumps. Photo: Phu Huong

Therefore, although the province and localities have made efforts to fight drought, there are still 13,591 hectares of crop areas suffering from drought and water shortage, of which 10,583 hectares are rice areas.

"If there is no rain in the next 5-7 days, about 4,500 hectares of rice will be burned and lost. Most of the rice fields are in the districts at the end of the Southern Irrigation System of the province, namely Hung Nguyen, Nghi Loc and Vinh city" - the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shared.