Unfinished resettlement area 21 billion VND
In late September 2024, in Phin Ngan commune, Bat Xat district, Lao Cai province - according to the reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper, the road leading to the villages appeared many landslides.
This greatly affects people's movement and is potentially dangerous, especially at night because one side of the road is a landslide and the other side is a deep abyss.
The most serious situation is in Lao Vang village of Phin Ngan commune, where dozens of households are living and are at risk of landslides due to storms and floods, with danger lurking.
Through research, households of Lao Vang village are currently included in the project to relocate residents from the disaster area of Bat Xat district.
The project covers an area of 11.6 hectares, arranging for 70 resettled households with a total cost of more than 21.2 billion VND, implemented in the period of 2023-2025. The investor is the Bat Xat District Construction Investment Project Management Board.
The purpose of the project is to build concentrated rural residential areas to relocate households affected by natural disasters such as storms, floods, and landslides, stabilize people's lives, and develop the socio-economy in the area.
Mr. Vang Van San (local resident) said: “We have lived here for decades. Landslides have occurred many times, affecting households in the village. However, up to now, people are still waiting to rebuild while continuing to live in anxiety."
According to Mr. San, the resettlement area of Lao Vang village was planned 3-4 years ago. Construction only started this year but it is not yet completed and has only stopped at building a clean water tank.
“We want to move to a new place, but the project has not been implemented yet so we cannot go. We hope that the construction unit will quickly level the ground and install an electrical system so that the households can soon move out of the area at risk of landslides,” said Mr. San.
Many years of immobility due to lack of capital
Ms. Chao Thi May (residing in Lao Vang village, Phin Ngan commune) also said: "During the recent flood, there were many landslides in the commune, fortunately there were no human casualties. However, the traffic infrastructure system was eroded and broken, making it extremely difficult for people to travel."
According to Ms. May, many households in the commune always have to live in fear because of the risk of landslides that threaten their lives at any time. The resettlement project was planned for people to move to, but now it is nowhere to be seen.
Regarding this issue, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Phin Ngan - Vang Lao Lo commune informed: The resettlement area in Lao Vang village is invested by the Bat Xat district Construction Investment Project Management Board. The project was planned since June 2020, but has been stagnant for many years due to lack of capital.
In 2023, the project will receive funding from the National Target Program. According to the plan, construction will start on September 12, but it happened right at the time of the flood, the traffic infrastructure in the commune was heavily eroded, so up to now, the machinery has not been able to be deployed.
According to the Chairman of the People's Committee of Phin Ngan Commune, during the recent flood, the government mobilized human resources to move households to safe shelters. However, the infrastructure and traffic system were seriously eroded, and a suspension bridge was completely damaged.
“We are also very impatient. Currently, the water system of the resettlement area is almost completed. If the weather is favorable, the construction unit will transport machinery to level the ground and install the electrical system. It is expected to be completed by the end of this year to welcome residents,” Mr. Vang Lao Lo added.
On the morning of September 28, speaking with Lao Dong Newspaper reporters, Mr. Vu Van Sinh - Director of Bat Xat District Construction Investment Project Management Board - said: The project was planned and proposed since 2020 but there was no budget for implementation. It was not until the end of 2023 that it was included in the National Target Program for capital allocation.
“During the flood in early September, Bat Xat district suffered a lot of damage, the transport infrastructure to the communes was eroded and broken, so we could not transport machinery to work. The cracked road leading to Phin Ngan commune was also related to the hydropower plant, because that side is waiting for insurance.
If the weather is dry, we will repair the access road and strive to complete the site and electricity and water systems to hand over to the people by the end of this year," affirmed the Director of the Bat Xat District Construction Investment Project Management Board.
