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Vietnam begins people resettlement for
plant
HANOI - The resettlement
of more than 90,000 people that will be displaced by
Vietnam's biggest hydroelectric plant project in the
northern province of Son La is a priority, said Deputy
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dzung.
Son La Province
is reinventing itself as a region with a strong
industrial focus, as land-clearing commences for the
power plant, explained the Deputy Prime Minister last
week. He affirmed that Son La is one of seven provinces
playing a key role in the country's socio-economic
development and national defense.
The Deputy
Prime Minister visited the Tan Lap resettlement area in
Moc Chau district, and Pa Vinh - the site for
construction of the power plant's main dam.
Inspecting the Si Pa Phin model resettlement
area in neighboring Lai Chau Province last Friday, Dzung
asked local authorities to ensure new settlers had good
living and working facilities.
New settlement
areas in Lai Chau Province will also house people
displaced by the Son La plant. Dzung requested that the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and other
relevant agencies, review models of resettlement zones
in Tan Lap and Si Pa Phin, and submit reviews for
government approval. These sites are being prepared for
residents currently living where Son La hydroelectric
power plant will be situated.
Construction of
the dam on the Da River will result in the relocation of
79,000 to 91,000 people from about 16,000 to 18,000
households.
Tan Lap resettlement area in the
village of the same name is now ready to accommodate 411
households displaced by the Son La power project, said
Son La People's Committee chairman, Ha Hung. A group of
83 Thai ethnic minority households have already been
resettled in the area, with the new houses built
according to ethnic minority traditions in order to
preserve their cultural identities.
Hung said a 28
kilometer-stretch of road from Moc Chau to Tan Chau has
been built, and at the end of last June, more than 54 of
the total 65km of rural roads planned were completed at
a cost of VND41 billion (US$2.6 million).
Each
household is allocated 1.4 hectares of cultivated land
for planting tea, bamboo, fruit trees, and pasture for a
milking cow, and Hung estimated that households could
earn VND34 million ($2,200) a year if they farmed this
effectively.
Son La plans residential areas in
six districts of Moc Chau, Yen Chau, Mai Son, Song Ma,
Quynh Nhai and Thuan Chau. Resettlement works are
progressing in the other model Si Pa Phin resettlement
area in the neighboring province of Lai Chau's Muong Lay
district.
Since March 2002, 200 households have
already moved into Si Pa Phin, said Lai Chau People's
Committee spokesperson, Vu Anh. Each individual receives
30 kilogram of rice a month, and 500 square meters of
reclaimed land for crops mainly rice, sugarcane, and
exotic bamboo, Anh said.
Relocated households
were reportedly happy in their new locality but pointed
out that they wanted an increased supply of drinking
water, and to boost their agricultural production to
improve their sustainability.
Lai Chau also
plans to erect new residential precincts for displaced
people, capable of housing between 1,000 and 2,500
families each.
The Son La hydroelectric power
plant has a designated capacity between 1,970 and 2,400
megawatts, and is expected to generate 7.55 to 9.2
billion kilowatt-hours per year.
The government
estimates the plant will cost between US$2.1 and $2.5
billion to build and hopes to obtain 70 percent of
funding from domestic sources.
Actual
construction work on the plant is expected to start in
2005, with the first turbine coming on line in 2012, and
the final by 2015.
The Son La dam is designed to
provide irrigation for lowland farming in the dry
season, and prevent flooding in the rainy season, with
an average water level of 205 to 215 meters.
Currently, Vietnam's biggest hydroelectric
plant, also situated on the Da River, is in northern Hoa
Binh Province - it has a capacity of 1,920MW, and
generated 72 billion kWh between 1998 and late 2001.
(Asia Pulse/VNA)
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