Waste in hydropower investment

Hydropower affects downstream areas

Mr. Nguyen Van Chin, Chairman of the People's Committee of Tay Thuan commune, Tay Son district, Binh Dinh province, said that the agricultural land had been regularly eroded in the past 4-5 years. Many hectares of farmers' crops were swept away by Tien Thuan hydropower discharge.

Tien Thuan hydropower plant has only partially operated since 2014 but has caused farmer’s frustration. They send petitions oftentimes to the government to ask the company’s management board for compensation. However, Tien Thuan Joint Stock Company has failed to promise.

At the end of 2020, after the government of Tay Thuan commune put pressure, the company just compensated more than VND 800 million for 11 households in Hoa Thuan village.

“The People's Committee of Tay Thuan commune has asked Tien Thuan Joint Stock Company to build an embankment about 300m long. The purpose is to prevent erosion. But so far the company has not responded”, according to Mr. Nguyen Van Chin.

The construction of a hydroelectric complex can cause significant environmental impact, principally in loss of arable land and population displacement. They also disrupt the river's natural ecology, affecting habitats and ecosystems and the siltation and erosion patterns. While dams can ameliorate the risks of flooding, they also contain a risk of dam failure, which can be catastrophic.

According to Binh Dinh Department of Industry and Trade, hydropower projects in the province bring many benefits such as promoting agricultural production, building transport infrastructure, and creating jobs for hundreds of workers.

With large reservoir-have hydropower projects, besides the above benefits, they also help downstream areas avoid floods in the rainy season and produce water in the dry season.

But in fact, people's lives in the downstream area are disturbed a lot. They are obsessed every time of hydropower discharges.

With a capacity of 220 million m3, Dinh Binh hydropower plant is the largest in Binh Dinh province. But it is affected by 2 other ones as Vinh Son 5 and Vinh Son 3.

Once, thousands of blocks of soil and rock during the construction of these two plants fell into the Kon River, and then the dam of Dinh Binh hydropower plant.

Hydropower investment not as expected

When dozens of hydropower projects were built on the Kon River, the local government and people were expecting a new road. This road was expected from Vinh Thanh town to Vinh Son commune, leading up to hydropower plants.

However, as people call it, the “Hydropower Road” is still rough with many potholes. Even though Vinh Thanh district has 5 hydropower plants, namely Dinh Binh, Ken Lut Ha, Tra Xom, Vinh Son 5, and Vinh Son, it is yet repaired by hydropower companies.

According to the Forest Protection and Development Fund, Binh Dinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the province has only collected the forest environment service fee from hydropower plants with flows in the province, including Tra Xom, Nuoc Xang, and Ken Lut Ha.

For hydropower plants with flows in other provinces, this fee is collected by the central government before being allocated to each province.

"Binh Dinh's total forest environment service fee collection from hydropower projects is about VND 7 billion, including the amount allocated from the central government", said Mr. Ngo Thanh Hoang Song, director of the Binh Dinh Forest Protection and Development Fund.

Mr. Nguyen Chi Dung, Vice Chairman of Vinh Thanh District People's Committee, said that Vinh Thanh district had 40 landslide sites near main roads in the rainy season in 2020.

“In recent years, the forest has begun to respond. The flood is getting more and more terrifying. The highlands often have landslides", he said.