The potential of "white gold" has not been exploited

(Baonghean) - With the advantage of many rivers and streams, favorable for hydropower development in mountainous districts, Nghe An has had 32 hydropower projects that have been and are being implemented with a total of 972.45 MW. This is a good result, but during the implementation process, many projects have been implemented at a slow pace...

In recent times, many hydropower development investment projects have been implemented in our province. Currently, in addition to 4 projects that have generated electricity with a total capacity of 342.5 MW, namely Ban Ve Hydropower Plant (320 MW), Ban Coc (18 MW), Sao Va (3 MW), Ban Canh (1.5 MW), there are 15 projects under construction with a total capacity of 501.2 MW, such as: Hua Na Hydropower Plant, capacity of 180 MW (invested by Hua Na Hydropower Joint Stock Company); Khe Bo Hydropower Plant: Capacity of 100 MW (invested by Vietnam Electricity Development Joint Stock Company); Nhan Hac Hydropower Plant, capacity of 45 MW (invested by Que Phong Hydropower Joint Stock Company and Hanoi Construction Corporation); Song Quang Hydropower Plant, capacity 12 MW (investor Son Vu Energy Development Joint Stock Company); or Ban Mong Hydropower Plant is an irrigation - hydropower project with the goal and task of supplying irrigation water for 18,871 hectares along Hieu River; supplying water for Ca River in the dry season at about 22 m3/s and generating electricity with an installed capacity of 42 MW... And currently there are 5 projects that have been granted investment certificates and 8 projects that have not been granted investment certificates.

Ban Coc Hydropower Plant (Que Phong) with a capacity of 18 MW has completed investment and is now generating electricity.

However, up to now, the total capacity of the projects that have generated electricity is only 342.5 MW out of the total planned 972.45 MW. The reason for this situation is that the implementation of investment projects is still slow compared to the approved progress, many projects are currently mainly implementing compensation for site clearance.

In particular, there are some projects that are behind schedule as stipulated in Decision No. 30/2006/QD-BCN dated August 31, 2006 of the Ministry of Industry (now the Ministry of Industry and Trade) such as Nam Pu, Nam Hat, Mon Son, Nam Tip hydropower plants. Some investors have not yet ensured the capacity to implement the project (especially financial capacity). Many projects are stuck in compensation and site clearance, affecting the progress of project implementation.

The target of our province is to strive for a total power capacity of about 3703.35 MW by 2020 with an electricity output of 20.83 billion kWh. Of which, the hydropower capacity will reach 1303.35 MW with an electricity output of 5.229 billion kWh. With the current difficulties in investment capital, the above target is a heavy task for the hydropower investment sector.

Therefore, in the coming time, it is necessary to do a good job of planning power source development and ranking the priority order of investment in construction of projects according to technical and economic indicators, helping investors to choose and implement investments with high economic efficiency. Along with that, conducting planning reviews, urging the implementation of highly feasible projects with little impact on the environment, eliminating unfeasible projects. Implementing investment in construction of projects in accordance with approved planning to ensure the development of power sources in the area in the right direction.

According to the Department of Industry and Trade officials: All levels and sectors need to urge projects that have been granted investment certificates to start construction. For projects that have started construction, it is necessary to strengthen direction and supervision, and at the same time remove difficulties and obstacles in compensation, resettlement and related administrative procedures. For projects that are behind schedule, it is necessary to assess the specific causes in order to have strict measures and sanctions, or terminate the project implementation....

To effectively exploit the advantages and potential of "white gold" resources in the mountainous districts of Western Nghe An, it seems that there is still much work to be done.

Hoang Vinh