For many years, people in Dien Bien Phu City have not been unfamiliar with the scene of Dien Bien Provincial Stadium and neighboring roads being deeply submerged in water during heavy rains. This situation not only causes difficulties for transportation and daily life but also affects the urban beauty.
It is worth mentioning that after implementing many projects to renovate, repair and prevent flooding, the flooding situation has recurred. According to the reporter's investigation, before 2022, there was a flood prevention project invested by the People's Committee of Muong Thanh Ward, Dien Bien Phu City.
This project is being implemented with items related to the drainage system around the stadium. However, because the water supply system from this area to the Nam Rom River has not been renovated, the problem of heavy flooding during heavy rains has not been resolved.
Along with that, the interior of Dien Bien Provincial Stadium has been invested in many repairs and upgrades. However, local flooding has not improved with the same reason being that the drainage system to the Nam Rom River has not been renovated.
For those reasons, in 2024, a project worth nearly 13 billion VND was implemented, including investment in items to install a drainage system with a sewer system with a diameter of 1m, buried 3.5m deep with a total length of 650m connecting the stadium area to the Nam Rom river. This project is invested by the Urban Management Department of Dien Bien Phu City.
At the same time, in 2024, the Truong Chinh road repair and renovation project with a total investment of 39 billion VND, invested by the Dien Bien Phu City Project Management Board, was implemented. This is one of the routes running through the stadium area that is also often heavily flooded during heavy rains.
These projects are expected to help reduce the risk of localized flooding in the stadium area and neighboring areas when completed. However, after just one recent re-season rain, Dien Bien Stadium turned into a huge water tank; the surrounding roads were also deeply submerged in water.
Speaking to Lao Dong Newspaper reporter, Mr. Do Ngoc Tu - Head of the Urban Management Department of Dien Bien Phu City - said that the main cause of local flooding on April 12 was heavy and prolonged rain, with measured rainfall from 120-150mm. Along with that, the stadium surface is lower than the road surface in the surrounding area, so it cannot be saved in time when there is heavy rain.
According to Mr. Tu, garbage and leaves often cover drainage gates, clogging manholes and drainage culverts, making it impossible for water to recede quickly in a short time.
Regarding solutions, Mr. Do Ngoc Tu said that along with propaganda and mobilizing people to raise awareness when releasing garbage, the city will complete the drainage project and handle the location of the collapsed sewers, and thoroughly resolve the encroached locations to ensure the drainage system is effective.
In the long term, Mr. Tu said: "There needs to be another large-scale project, a drainage basin must be recalculated to develop a plan to upgrade and expand the drainage system. At the same time, invest in modern irrigation pumping stations with large capacity".
