Hydropower plant 'disclaims' responsibility in case of many houses cracking open, at risk of falling into the lake bed in Nghe An

On May 8, Mr. Kha Van Ot - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district, said that the district had just sent a document to the Provincial People's Committee regarding the relocation of 6 households in Khe Kien village, Luu Kien commune, which Nghe An Newspaper had reported on.

According to this document, after receiving instructions from the Provincial People's Committee, Tuong Duong district assigned relevant departments and offices to coordinate with Luu Kien commune and affected households to complete a plan to support the evacuation of people from the landslide area. The district then also issued a document on funding arrangements.

However, the investor of Ban Ang Hydropower Plant, Nam Mo - Nam Non Hydropower Joint Stock Company, could not arrange funds to pay the people. "Therefore, the district reported and requested the Provincial People's Committee to request the investor of Ban Ang Hydropower Plant to be responsible for arranging funds to pay for the above 6 households to relocate out of landslide areas and areas with high risk of landslides. Ensure the safety of people's lives and property to stabilize their lives in the short and long term, especially at the beginning of the 2020 flood season," the document of Tuong Duong district stated.

This is the second time that Tuong Duong district has sent a document requesting the hydropower plant to support relocation costs.

Cracks run dozens of meters long at Lu Duy Hai's house. Photo: Tien Hung

Previously, after receiving a document from Tuong Duong district regarding financial support for the relocation of these 6 households, Nam Mo - Nam Non Hydropower Joint Stock Company responded in writing, denying any related responsibility.

According to the investor's document, the compensation and site clearance for Ban Ang Hydropower Plant has been completed, and all land recovered for the construction of the hydropower plant has been compensated according to state regulations. The plant has been in operation since January 2017.

"The 6 households that need to be relocated according to the recommendation of the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district are all located on the flooded area of ​​Ban Ang hydropower reservoir. The reason why the houses of these households have cracks is due to many reasons, especially because these households are all located on the negative slope of National Highway 7, which is greatly affected by floods caused by natural disasters, especially the 2018 flood," said the Nam Mo - Nam Non Hydropower Joint Stock Company.

The leader of this hydropower plant also said that since the beginning of 2019, the company's operations have encountered many difficulties due to the prolonged drought, all river basins have run out of water, and output and revenue have only reached 70%. "In such a situation, revenue from electricity sales is not enough to cover the costs of maintaining production activities, especially in recent months, revenue from electricity generation is not enough to pay off principal and interest on loans," the hydropower plant's document stated.

Ban Ang Hydropower Plant.

As Nghe An Newspaper has reported, for nearly 2 years now,6 houses in Luu Kien commune have many large cracks., waiting to fall into the Ban Ang hydroelectric reservoir. These households have lived in this area for a long time, so they believe that the cause of this is due to the influence of the Ban Ang hydroelectric plant. After an inspection, Tuong Duong district determined that urgent evacuation must be carried out before November 2019. However, due to lack of funds, the people here have not been evacuated yet, while the cracks are getting bigger and the flood season is approaching.

Although since January 2020, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Ngoc Hoa also requested Nam Mo - Nam Non Hydropower Joint Stock Company to coordinate with the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district and related organizations and individuals to agree on a plan and budget to relocate 6 households out of the landslide area.