On the afternoon of January 21, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a meeting to listen to reports and give opinions on the plan to add water from the Red River to the To Lich River (Hanoi) to improve the environment.
According to the report of Hanoi People's Committee, the water source is taken directly from the Red River, led through an underground pipeline along Vo Chi Cong Street to the starting point of To Lich River at Hoang Quoc Viet Street with a length of about 5.3km. The pipeline has a branch to supply water to West Lake.
The expected water flow is from 240,000-270,000 m3/day and night, helping the To Lich River reach an elevation of 3.3-3.8m compared to the current elevation of 1.3-1.8m and a flow of 100,000 m3/day and night.
Along the To Lich River, a number of dams will be designed with the function of sedimentation, clarifying the water, creating flow, and exploiting the landscape on both banks...
At the meeting, leaders of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Construction, and representatives of the Ministry of Justice cited regulations on construction law, public investment, etc., clearly stating the authority and responsibility of Hanoi City in implementing the project to add water from the Red River to the To Lich River.
Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tuong Van suggested that Hanoi City should review and update the capital’s water supply and drainage planning; location, scale, and capacity of pumping stations; clarify the plan for treating alluvium before releasing water into the To Lich River...
Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha stated that handling pollution in Hanoi's rivers and lakes is extremely urgent and necessary, and must be done as quickly as possible.
The plan to add water from the Red River to the To Lich River has political, legal, scientific and practical bases.
Hanoi City is responsible for calculating plans and technical solutions to ensure environmental goals, sustainability, economic efficiency, impact levels, and influences during construction and operation of pumping stations, pipelines, flows, etc. on surrounding works.
The Deputy Prime Minister requested that along with the supply of clean water to the To Lich River, Hanoi must synchronously implement accompanying solutions such as: Dredging riverbed sediments; collecting and treating wastewater and rainwater before discharging into the river; improving the landscape on both sides of the river; reviewing, adjusting and updating water supply and drainage plans...
Emphasizing the urgency of the project, the Deputy Prime Minister noted that if Hanoi wants to do it quickly, it must have a systematic, comprehensive and specific plan, design and solution; not rush into doing it carelessly, making mistakes in the process, design, planning, and selection of investors, causing losses and losing the overall economic benefits.
"To Lich will truly return to being a river that brings landscape, urban, service, transportation, tourism values... and is a model for mechanisms and methods of handling polluted rivers and environmentally polluted areas," the Deputy Prime Minister wishes.
