Suoi Choang Hydropower Plant is more than 10 years behind schedule
(Baonghean.vn) - Suoi Choang Hydropower Plant started construction in 2009 and was expected to be completed in 2012, but to date it has not been able to operate.
More than 10 years behind schedule
Deep in the upper Khe Choang, there are more than 400 households in Khe Bu, Khe Na villages and Khe Nong residential area (Chau Khe commune, Con Cuong district) living here for many generations. The rugged terrain and difficult transportation make hunger and poverty cling to the people here, especially in the areas where the Dan Lai people live such as Khe Nong and Khe Bu. This is considered the most difficult and poorest area in the whole Con Cuong district.
The roads leading to these villages are winding, steep, and rocky, and must cross many streams. Because of the difficult transportation, the children here have to go to school even more difficult. Every time the new school year begins or after Tet, teachers and commune officials have to go to each house to persuade their children to go to school. Part of the reason why parents are not interested in sending their children to school is because, from the first grade, children have to travel dozens of kilometers of difficult roads to get to the school in the commune center.
According to the leader of Chau Khe commune, most of the households here are still poor or near-poor. “The reason is partly due to the Suoi Choang hydropower project, which has been going on for 14 years and is still not completed. The prolonged project makes it difficult to invest in infrastructure, and roads cannot be built into those villages. Therefore, it is very difficult for the area to develop,” said the leader of Chau Khe commune, adding that if this hydropower project stores water, the roads leading to Khe Bu, Khe Na and Khe Nong will have to be located under the lake, so the government has not dared to invest in building roads yet. Not only transportation, but up to now, more than 400 households here still do not have electricity for daily life.
The Suoi Choang Hydropower Project, which crosses the Khe Choang River, began construction in 2009. The investor is MECO Investment and Development Joint Stock Company. The project initially had a total investment of 74.5 billion VND, the approved installed capacity was 2.1 MW, and was expected to be completed in 2012, with an average annual electricity production of 14.2 million kWh. However, the project was then sluggishly constructed, even stalled for many years.
The Suoi Choang hydropower project was restarted at the end of 2017. However, from then until April 2021, the investor had to request three adjustments to the progress and total investment in the investment registration certificate. In the last adjustment, the project increased the total investment to VND 145 billion, while the average annual electricity production remained the same; the project implementation progress was adjusted, extended to August 2022 to operate and generate electricity to the national grid. However, up to now, it has been a full year behind the last extension, but this project has not been able to operate.
Delay in site clearance progress
According to the reporter's investigation, up to now, the project has completed all auxiliary works such as site leveling, electricity supply, construction water supply, warehouse, camp, construction road. The cofferdam item has reached 100% of the volume; the project's management and operation building has reached 100% of the volume; the dam item has reached 100% of the volume; the spillway item has reached 80% of the volume; the pressure pipeline has reached 100% of the volume; the water intake gate, sand discharge gate has reached 100% of the volume; the factory item, discharge channel has reached 100% of the volume; the 35KV connection line has reached 100% of the volume....
To implement the project, in 2009, the People's Committee of Con Cuong district reclaimed more than 38 hectares of agricultural and forestry land from local people and the People's Committee of Chau Khe commune. However, up to now, the investor has only completed compensation for the area of the Suoi Choang hydropower project's headquarter cluster, with an area of only about 23,000m2.2, and basically completed compensation for trees, crops and structures for affected households in the hydroelectric reservoir area. The affected agricultural and forestry land has not yet been compensated.
In addition, 8 hectares of natural forest will be flooded under the lake if the hydropower plant operates, but so far the forest use has not been converted to other purposes.
Mr. Kha Van Thuong - Chairman of Chau Khe Commune People's Committee said that Suoi Choang Hydropower Plant affects both traffic and power lines in the area. "Up to now, the investor has only compensated for crops and assets on the land. We have repeatedly proposed that the investor and related sectors complete the project soon so that people can stabilize their lives. At the same time, speed up the progress of site clearance for people," said Mr. Thuong.
According to the reporter's investigation, Suoi Choang Hydropower Plant was built with an installed capacity of 4MW, as stated in the Investment Registration Certificate. However, in the Decision approving the planning of small and medium hydropower plants in Nghe An province, Suoi Choang Hydropower Plant was approved with a scale of only 2.1MW.
Regarding the project progress, recently the investor of Suoi Choang Hydropower Plant continued to submit a request for project adjustment, in which it proposed to adjust the project implementation progress to "operation and power generation to the national grid in June 2024".
