Spring arrives at Bản Vẽ.

The Ban Ve hydroelectric project is bustling with activity in the final days of the year. The winding roads along the mountainside on both sides of the Nam Non River are shrouded in dust from the constant stream of construction vehicles. The foundations of the dam and the power plant area are being completed, preparing to receive the first batches of concrete. The water intake and nearly 1.5 km of the water diversion tunnel through the mountain are being urgently completed...

Spring is coming to this massive construction site.

From Vinh, we set off urgently early in the morning, but it wasn't until early afternoon that we arrived at the headquarters of the Hydropower Project Management Board 2 at the Ban Ve hydropower plant construction site. Deputy Head of the Technical Department, Nguyen Van Son, said: "Take advantage of the clearing sky and invite the reporters to the construction site to film and take pictures immediately, because it gets dark very quickly this season." After about 10 minutes of driving through dusty roads, we arrived at the dam to witness the bustling work of over 2,000 workers. Thanh An Company's workers were rushing to construct the water intake gate, and hundreds of workers were suspended weaving steel at an elevation of 136 meters. Song Da Company was urgently laying rebar for concrete pouring of the power plant. Cavico Company was quietly completing the water diversion tunnel inside the rocky mountain. KoMa Company began installing the steel casing for the water pipeline... The Nam Non Riverbed at the dam construction site had been cleared of mud and soil, and the dam foundation had been completely poured with concrete. Both riverbanks have been reinforced with grout injection and concrete waterproofing. Preparations for pouring the first batches of concrete for the dam body and downstream of the power plant in early February are being urgently completed by the contractor. To prepare for this important project, Song Da Corporation is installing a concrete mixing plant system with a capacity of 500 m³/hour, including 3 concrete mixing plants, 16 bulk cement silos, a 650 m³/hour stone crushing plant, conveyor belts, etc. Machinery, equipment, and personnel are being mobilized by the contractors for this final push. Starting in mid-February – close to the Lunar New Year – approximately 3,000 workers and hundreds of vehicles will operate 24/7 on the construction site. Specifically for pouring concrete for the dam body and power plant foundation, Song Da Corporation has deployed over 100 specialized vehicles to transport cement powder and ready-mix concrete. The entire project is preparing for a campaign to pour 550,000 m3 of various types of concrete. This large volume of concrete pouring requires high technical skill, meticulous attention to detail, and close supervision. At the testing site, employees and machinery from the Ministry of Industry's Power Construction Consulting Company No. 1 are diligently drilling through layers of concrete to check compressive strength and other technical requirements.

According to Mr. Ho Sy Bao, Deputy Head of the Hydropower Project Management Board 2 and Head of the Construction Management Board, "The contractors have mobilized additional manpower and machinery to strive to complete the flood control work for the project by August 31, 2007, as committed, including pouring concrete for the dam body up to an elevation of 120 meters, pouring concrete for the downstream section of the power plant up to an elevation of 91 meters; simultaneously raising the water intake gate to an elevation of 180 meters, completing the entire concrete system of the water diversion tunnel nearly 1.5 km long, installing the steel shell... The total value of work performed in 2007 is quite large, approximately 900 billion VND, including 453 billion VND for construction, 135 billion VND for equipment, and 212 billion VND for other costs." Mr. Bao further added that, in addition to worrying about the construction progress, Project Management Unit 2 also has to coordinate closely with local authorities to implement the relocation and resettlement schedule according to plan, in order to free up the reservoir area in line with the overall project schedule...

The construction progress is being strictly controlled across all items. At this point, the project is basically on schedule. Contractors have planned to increase manpower, especially the technical team and machinery; construction schedules are detailed weekly and monthly, along with construction methods, acceptance testing, and handover plans... no one is thinking about Tet (Lunar New Year) yet. Engineer Son confided: "Last year, the work wasn't as intense, but we didn't get to go home for Tet. We only got to rest from 10 PM on the thirtieth night of the lunar month until the morning of the second day. During Tet, missing home, we'd have a drink together and then sleep in to regain our strength. This year, the schedule is even more tight, so I'm planning to bring my wife (a teacher from Nghi Loc) to celebrate Tet at the construction site..." It's not just the adults who are suffering; the children who accompany their parents to the construction site, or those born on the site, have had to "forget about Tet" because their parents are busy working on the project...

Day and night, thousands of people work tirelessly on this construction site, all for the sake of electricity tomorrow. They don't yet know that spring is just around the corner, because behind the construction site, the majestic mountains and forests stretch out in a vast, magical expanse of green, and somewhere the sound of cassette players in the workers' huts echoes loudly, singing "Tet, Tet is coming..."

Thanh Vinh - Sy Minh