Residents of the flood-affected Hoa Son area are waiting for electricity and water before moving to the resettlement area.
The Hoa Son resettlement area in Muong Xen commune, Nghe An province, was supposed to be completed in March 2025, but to this day it remains in a situation where "it's built but not yet habitable."
The project is complete, but the residents are still unable to settle down.
The Hoa Son resettlement area is being built to provide safe housing for 56 households in the disaster-prone area of Muong Xen commune. The project has a total investment of 31.5 billion VND. Each plot of land in the resettlement area has an area of 210 to 230 m², and construction started in mid-November 2023 and is expected to be completed in March 2025.
In early November 2025, while visiting the Hoa Son resettlement area, we observed dozens of new, well-built houses constructed by residents on their allocated plots of land. However, the area was deserted. Although the houses were built, residents were unable to move in because the electricity and water systems were still incomplete.
Mr. Vi Van Hai, a resident slated for relocation, shared: “My family was allocated a resettlement area to avoid the risk of flash floods. But to this day, there is no electricity or water, so we just built a house and returned to our old home. Living by the stream, everyone is constantly worried when the rainy season comes.”
Several other households in the Hoa Son resettlement area said: "We want to build houses in time for Tet in our new homes, but there is no electricity so we can't use mortar mixers, iron cutters, or sheet metal cutters, making construction difficult."
According to Mr. Vi Van Truyen, head of Hoa Son village, all 56 households have agreed to relocate to the new area. However, due to incomplete infrastructure, the villagers are "caught between two places." Many households have already built houses and even planted gardens, hoping to celebrate Tet (Lunar New Year) in the new area.
The infrastructure needs to be completed soon.electricity and water levelsto help people settle down.
According to Mr. Lo Dinh Thu, Chairman of the People's Committee of Muong Xen commune, the biggest obstacle currently is that the Hoa Son resettlement area was previously invested in by the Ky Son District People's Committee and was under the management of the former Ta Ca commune. After the administrative boundary adjustment, this area was transferred to Muong Xen commune, but the handover documents and procedures have not yet been completed. Therefore, the commune lacks the legal basis to take over and implement the next steps in management and operation.
“We earnestly hope that the authorities will soon complete the handover of the Hoa Son resettlement area to Muong Xen commune for management. Only then will the local government have a basis to propose and coordinate with relevant departments to complete the electricity and water infrastructure, helping people to stabilize their lives as soon as possible. It is currently the rainy season, and if the infrastructure is not completed soon, people in low-lying areas will still face the risk of landslides and flash floods.”
