Voters recommend dredging Dien - Yen 2 drainage canal to ensure drainage.

Reply:

- According to the report of Yen Thanh District People's Committee: The drainage routes in Yen Thanh district have been dredged and cleared, however, the final sections of the drainage routes in Dien Chau district have not been dredged, causing congestion for residential areas and agricultural production in Yen Thanh district during the rainy season.

According to the report of the Project Management Board of the Agriculture and Rural Development sector: The project to repair and upgrade the drainage system of Vach Nam - Bung River in Yen Thanh and Dien Chau districts, Nghe An province was approved in Decision No. 2832/QD.UBND-NN dated July 2, 2010 of the People's Committee of Nghe An province; Approval of the first and second adjustments to the investment project in Decisions No. 3882/QD.UBND-NN dated September 22, 2011 and No. 685/QD.UBND-NN dated May 18, 2012 of the People's Committee of Nghe An province.

Investment project scale: Includes 2 systems: Vach Nam and Bung River(including the dredging of Dien - Yen 2 drainage canal (section from Dien Dong commune to the drainage river through Dien Thanh and Dien Ngoc sluices) with the task of ensuring drainage and summer-autumn flood drainage (corresponding to the frequency P = 10%) for 8,035 hectares (of which agricultural land is 6,040 hectares); creating water sources to irrigate 25,000 hectares of agricultural land, ensuring stable production for 24,393 households with 103,266 people, increasing crop productivity, contributing to hunger eradication and poverty reduction.

Combining road construction creates favorable conditions for people in the region to travel conveniently, maximizing other economic sectors.

The total investment of the project approved under Decision No. 3882/QD-UBND.NN dated September 22, 2011 and No. 1103/QD.SNN-QLXD dated October 10, 2012 of the Provincial People's Committee is 367,662 billion VND. And the investment phase according to Decision No. 1685/QD-UBND.NN dated May 18, 2012 of the Provincial People's Committee includes 2 phases: Phase 1 has a total investment of 113,103 billion VND; Phase 2 has a total investment of 254,559 billion VND.

People collect water hyacinth to prevent flooding on the Dien - Yen 2 canal. Photo courtesy of Thai Duong

The project started construction in January 2012, the total amount of work completed and accepted is 62,892 million VND. However, up to now, only 54,400 million VND has been allocated and disbursed.

Due to insufficient funding for the project (48% compared to phase 1 project),Although the Project Management Board and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development have recently submitted a request to the Provincial People's Committee to allocate capital for the project, up to now the provincial and ministry budget has not been allocated, the source of capital for construction units is not yet available and site clearance has not been able to be carried out.

In 2021, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development reported to the competent authority to arrange funding for the project in Report No. 129/BC-SNN.QLXD dated April 12, 2021 of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on the Medium-term Investment Plan for the period 2021-2025; and Report No. 1343/SNN dated April 26, 2021 on explaining and requesting funding for the Project to Repair and Upgrade the Vach Nam - Bung River Drainage System with an additional budget of 90 billion VND, but not arranged in the list of medium-term investment projects for the period 2021-2025.

Propose that the Provincial People's Committee, ministries and central branches pay attention to and prioritize timely allocation of sufficient capital for the Vach Nam - Song Bung Project to clear the site, pay off contractors' outstanding debts, complete the project's phase 1, put it into use and promote its effectiveness.

GH