The hydraulic engineer with his "family heirloom to pass down to posterity..."

(Baonghean) - I've known Engineer Nguyen Quang Hoa since 2010, when he received the special prize in the Science and Technology Innovation Competition for his work "Chau Binh Auxiliary Dam and Drainage Canal Component," which saved the budget nearly 300 billion VND during the implementation of the Ban Mong Irrigation Reservoir Grand Project. However, I never knew he wrote for newspapers…

1. My young friend, Lo Van The, who works at the Department of Industry and Trade of Quy Chau district, introduced me to Mr. Hoa's articles. The enthusiastically said: "Many of his articles have been published in Nghe An Newspaper. They are excellent…". Glancing through the prefaces and titles of some of the articles, the book "70 Springs - A Long Career" truly made a strong impression on me.

From many articles published in central and local newspapers, he selected 20 to include in his book. Upon reflection, he realized that he only wrote about social issues that concerned him and that he truly had a deep understanding of.

And I was particularly interested in his analyses of the advantages and disadvantages of hydroelectric projects, climate change issues, and social critiques. Because, as I think, even though he wrote these articles a decade ago, they are not only valuable in the past, but also in the present, and perhaps even in the future.

Let's take the article "A Common Operating Regulation Needed for Hydropower Plants on the Lam River" (Nghe An Newspaper, June 1, 2010) as an example. Just the title alone highlights the author's concerns, anxieties, and dedication. He raises the issue: "In food production in Nghe An, the period of severe water shortage and strict planting seasons—the flowering of the winter-spring rice crop and the sowing of the summer-autumn crop—both fall within the dry season cycle of the Lam River. Now, the dry season water flow is being cut off to store water for hydropower plants upstream, which is a very serious issue for production and life…".

With his deep understanding of irrigation, he analyzed: "During the dry season, water is stored to serve the factories, reducing the flow downstream"; "...During the flood season, the flooding of the embankment and cultivated land upstream will increase to a level depending on the discharge capacity of the sluice gates."

On the other hand, the potential energy generated, along with the imbalance in sediment content in the flow due to accumulation at hydroelectric power plants, causes erosion downstream, especially in fertile riverside areas…”.

A view of the Ban Mong irrigation reservoir project in Chau Binh commune.

Following these explanations, he offered the following commentary: "Exploiting the potential of river flow for hydropower is a major policy that naturally involves accepting some acceptable levels of damage. However, the benefits and drawbacks need to be comprehensively assessed within a sustainable development strategy, harmonizing interests, especially national food security and the ecological environment in the river basin."

Given the prolonged global and regional climate change leading to complex and unpredictable weather patterns, perhaps we should temporarily halt the construction of new hydropower plants that are already under construction or about to become operational to allow time for evaluation. The obvious lessons from hydropower projects in other countries as well as in our own provinces are still fresh in our minds. A common operating regulation for hydropower plants on the Lam River is needed to prevent a single upstream station from causing a chain reaction of consequences downstream. This is an issue that needs to be addressed and considered…”

2. I knew him, had met him, but had never spoken to him, so I contacted him and went to his house. Former Head of the Irrigation Department, Nguyen Quang Hoa, lives with his family at Alley 7, Tran Quang Khai Street, Ha Huy Tap Ward, Vinh City. In his warm home, he told me the reasons for his critique of the Ban Mong Irrigation Reservoir project and the issues he had written about.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Hoa.

“The Ban Mong irrigation reservoir project, with an elevation of 76.4 meters, upon completion will flood the entire Chau Binh commune, affecting over 770 households, 138 hectares of double-cropping rice fields, and many other structures. Chau Binh is one of the most densely populated, large, and prosperous areas along National Highway 48. After studying the project, we found many shortcomings, a lack of feasibility, and significant costs to the budget… Why not find a way to separate Chau Binh commune from the reservoir area? Therefore, we, as the Center for Consulting and Application of Science, Technology & Irrigation, presented our proposal to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; and then to the Provincial People's Committee for review and proposed adding the “Chau Binh auxiliary dam and drainage canal component” to the Ban Mong irrigation reservoir project. And the result, as you know…” – he confided.

Regarding the Ban Mong irrigation reservoir project, he shared many thoughts, especially about the necessity of social critique. He said that in 2003, the Government issued a decision on social consultation, critique, and assessment activities; the 10th Party Congress also clarified the role of social critique. However, this has not yet been formalized through policy mechanisms; there are no regulations specifying who is obligated to participate in social consultation, critique, and assessment. Many people in positions of power are still hesitant, even avoiding, social critique…

3. He was the driving force behind the project "Building policy mechanisms and bringing social critique into life in Nghe An," which led the Provincial Party Standing Committee to direct the Provincial People's Committee to assign his Center to draft the Decision for the Provincial People's Committee to issue Decision No. 60/2014/QD-UBND regulating social consultation, critique, and assessment activities. Therefore, I asked him: "Many people engage in social critique, but not many succeed. In your opinion, what qualities are needed for someone to carry out social critique?"

Mr. Hoa at the construction site of the auxiliary dam and drainage canal of Ban Mong irrigation reservoir.

He smiled happily: "I heard the saying, 'Put yourself in my shoes, and you'll understand me,' and I've adopted that as my motto. Critical analysis is like a spotlight; when it shines on something, it reveals what's good and what's not. With the motto I've followed throughout my life, I've always believed that if you want to engage in social critique, it must be from the perspective of a democratic, just, and civilized society; critical analysis must follow a rigorous process and method, with a solid scientific basis, and be a selective, scientific analysis and evaluation based on sound social norms..."

Listening to his analysis, I understood more deeply the passion he expressed in his book "70 Springs - A Long Career"; and I realized that his success was also built on a sincere and kind heart...

Nhat Lan