The hydraulic engineer with 'family heirloom for life...'

(Baonghean) - I have known about Engineer Nguyen Quang Hoa since 2010, when he received the special prize of the Science and Technology Innovation Competition with the project "Chau Binh auxiliary dam and drainage canal" which saved the budget nearly 300 billion VND when implementing the Ban Mong Irrigation Reservoir Project. However, I never knew he wrote for the press...

1. My young friend Lo Van The, working at the Department of Industry and Trade of Quy Chau district, was the one who introduced me to Mr. Hoa's articles. The confided: "There are many articles that have been published in Nghe An Newspaper. Very good...". Skimming through the preface and titles of some articles, the book "70 springs - a long career" really made a strong impression on me.

From many articles used by central and local newspapers, he selected 20 articles to publish in his book. Reflecting on it, he found that he only wrote about social issues of concern that he truly understood deeply.

And I was especially interested in the articles he analyzed the pros and cons of hydropower projects, climate change issues and social criticism. Because as I think, with this content, even though he wrote it ten years ago, it is not only valuable in the past, but also in the present, and perhaps, in the future.

Citing the article “There needs to be a common management regulation for hydroelectric plants on the Lam River” (Nghe An Newspaper, June 1, 2010) as an example. Just the title of the article reveals the author’s concerns, worries and enthusiasm. He raises the issue: “In food production in Nghe An, the period of severe water shortage and strict crop season is when the winter-spring rice blooms and the summer-autumn rice is planted, both of which fall during the Lam River’s dry season. Now the dry season water flow is cut off to store water for hydroelectric plants upstream, which is a very serious issue for production and life…”.

With his deep understanding of irrigation, he analyzed: “In the dry season, due to water storage for factories, the flow downstream is reduced”; “…In the flood season, the flooding of embankments and cultivated land upstream will increase at a level depending on the discharge capacity of the sluice gates.

On the other hand, the potential energy created along with the imbalance of alluvial content in the flow due to accumulation at hydroelectric plants causes erosion downstream, especially in fertile riverbank areas...".

A corner of Ban Mong Irrigation Reservoir in Chau Binh commune.

After these explanations, he commented: “Exploiting the potential of the flow for hydropower is a major policy that of course requires accepting losses at an acceptable level. However, the benefits and harms need to be comprehensively assessed in a sustainable development strategy, harmonizing interests, especially national food security and the ecological environment in the basin.

In the face of the prolonged global and regional climate change situation, which leads to complex and unpredictable weather, it is advisable to temporarily stop the construction of new hydropower plants that have been built and are being put into operation to have more time for evaluation. The obvious lessons about hydropower that have happened in other countries as well as in the provinces in the country are still hot. There should be general regulations for the operation of hydropower plants on the Lam River to avoid incidents at a certain station upstream, leading to chain consequences for the downstream. This is an issue that needs to be mentioned and considered...".

2. I knew him, I met him but I had never talked to him, so I contacted him and went to his house. Former Head of the Irrigation Department Nguyen Quang Hoa lives with his family in Lane 7, Tran Quang Khai Street, Ha Huy Tap Ward, Vinh City. In his warm house, he told me the reason for conducting the review of the Ban Mong Irrigation Reservoir project, and the issues he wrote about.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Hoa.

“The Ban Mong Irrigation Reservoir Project with an elevation of 76.4 after completion will flood the entire Chau Binh commune with more than 770 households, 138 hectares of two-crop rice fields and many other works. Chau Binh is one of the most densely populated, large and densely populated areas of National Highway 48. Through studying the project, we found many shortcomings, lack of feasibility, and cost the budget... Why not find a solution to separate Chau Binh commune from the reservoir area? Therefore, we presented it to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as a consulting center for the application of science, technology and information technology; then the Provincial People's Committee to do the review work, proposing a plan to add the "Chau Binh auxiliary dam and drainage canal component" to the Ban Mong Irrigation Reservoir Project. And the result, as you know..." - he confided.

From the story of Ban Mong Irrigation Reservoir, he thought about many things, especially about the necessity of social criticism. He said that in 2003, the Government had made a decision on social consulting, criticism and appraisal activities; at the 10th Party Congress, our Party also clarified the role of social criticism. However, it has not been materialized in policy mechanisms; there are no regulations on subjects required to consult, criticize and appraise socially. The mentality of many people in powerful agencies is that they are still afraid, even avoid criticism work...

3. He is the soul of the Project "Building policy mechanisms, bringing social criticism into life in Nghe An", from which the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee directed the Provincial People's Committee to assign his Center to draft a Decision for the Provincial People's Committee to issue Decision No. 60/2014/QD-UBND regulating social consulting, criticism and appraisal activities. So I asked him: "There are many people who do criticism, but not many are successful. According to you, what factors do people need to do social criticism work?"

Mr. Hoa at the construction site of the auxiliary dam and drainage canal of Ban Mong Irrigation Lake.

He smiled happily: “I heard the saying “Stand in my shoes and you will understand me” and took that as my working motto. Criticism is like a spotlight that, when shined on, will reveal what is good and what is not. With the motto that I have followed throughout my life, I always keep in mind that if I want to conduct social criticism, it must be from the perspective of a democratic, fair and civilized society; conducting criticism must follow a strict process and method, have a solid scientific basis and be a selective scientific analysis and evaluation based on correct social standards…”.

Listening to his analysis, I seemed to understand more about his enthusiasm in the book “70 springs – a long career”; and realized that his success was also built from a sincere heart…

Nhat Lan