Billion-dollar irrigation projects 'shelved'

(Baonghean) - In recent years, many irrigation works have been invested in and upgraded by the State to meet the water supply needs for agricultural production for people in many localities. However, up to now, there are still some unfinished construction works that have been "shelved" for many years, causing difficulties for people in agricultural production.

Ngoc Son Commune Pumping Station, Do Luong District is an irrigation project invested from the province's capital, started construction 3 years ago, but until now the project is still "shelved".

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Lam - Vice Chairman of Ngoc Son Commune People's Committee said: The locality has 200 hectares of agricultural land specializing in rice cultivation but there is no irrigation works to supply water for irrigation. In 2015, the State invested in building a pumping station next to the Lam River to pump water for production. It was thought that the project would be completed soon so that people could stabilize production, but after nearly 3 years the project is still not finished, making people upset. Due to lack of capital, the project completed the basic items: Building a house to place the pump, the water canal system... but the pump has not been installed.

People in Son Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) use soil sacks to block the water regulation culvert to retain water. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Some people in Ngoc Son commune believe that the State's investment in such a half-baked manner is a waste. Because many items have been completed for a long time but have not been put into use, abandoned, and no one has taken care of them, leading to damage and deterioration, affecting the quality of the project.

The total investment of Ngoc Son Commune Pumping Station is 14.5 billion VND. Up to now, the construction unit has completed the construction items, but the State has only disbursed 5.5 billion VND. Due to lack of timely funding, the contractor has not installed the pump, causing hundreds of hectares of production land in Ngoc Son Commune to not have enough water to irrigate, leading to unstable productivity.

It is known that in Do Luong district, there are currently 5 projects to upgrade irrigation works using central capital, provincial budget and other legal capital sources that have been unfinished for many years. They are: Quan Don Dam (Dai Son), Vung Tron Dam (Hong Son Commune), Van Son Dam (Quang Son Commune), Vung Cay Dam (Lam Son Commune) and Ngoc Son Pumping Station. Of which, Ngoc Son Commune Pumping Station is the most urgent, because it affects the production of 200 hectares of land of the people.

Similarly, Khe Noc dam in Son Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) is one of the large water storage structures in Son Thanh commune, but it is currently in a state of disrepair. The dam body and water control sluice system are damaged and no longer function to regulate and retain water. At Khe Noc dam, many bags of soil have been built along the dam banks and under the sluice gates, but the water level in the dam has reached the bottom.

According to the data of the Yen Thanh District Project Management Board, there are currently a number of irrigation works in the district that are under construction and then "shelved": The Bau Trang Dam Upgrade Project in Trung Thanh Commune has been invested by the State with 17 billion VND to upgrade the dam body, spillway, water regulation culvert, etc. since 2013, but has not yet been completed due to lack of capital; The Khe Noc Dam Project in Son Thanh Commune has been invested by the State with 12 billion VND, but so far only 3 billion VND has been disbursed to build canals. This is an urgent project, so it is expected to continue construction in 2018.

Ngoc Son Commune Pumping Station (Do Luong) has been under construction for 3 years. Photo: Xuan Hoang

The construction and effective management of irrigation works is an extremely important task to ensure the sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas in the new period. The province also clearly identifies the importance of building an irrigation system to serve agricultural irrigation. However, the current reality is that many irrigation works are being implemented in the province due to problems with construction investment capital, which not only causes loss of State money but also affects the lives and production of the people.

Xuan Hoang