As reported by Lao Dong Newspaper, the construction process of the Ban Kieng hydropower project in Tung Ba commune (Tuyen Quang) has been going on for many years, many items are not yet completed, affecting people in Ban Kieng and Hong Minh villages.
On October 31, information from the People's Council of Tung Ba commune, the unit has just issued a conclusion on a survey of the actual area affected by the Ban Kieng hydropower project.
According to the report, the cluster of focal works has a designed water reservoir with a capacity of about 500,000m3.
The items of digging foundation holes and drilling for reinforcement and protection of the dambed have been completed according to plan.
The concrete volume of the dam has reached 13,952m3, equivalent to 54% of the progress, the energy route has dug a foundation of 43,890m3 (reaching 70%), the concrete part of the energy route has reached 92.46m3 (3.7%), the factory and transformer station items have not been implemented.
The entire construction site is temporarily suspended. Also through a field survey, the domestic water pipeline in the dam area was damaged.
In the area behind the dam, rocks and soil from the leveling process and opening pipelines flow down the negative slope, when heavy rain flows down, burying the agricultural land area, canals and damaging the domestic waterway.
The survey results determined that the situation of rocks and soil flowing into the stream bed, causing silting and landslides in rice fields was correct, true to the reflection and recommendation of local people.
Domestic water sources are seriously affected by the construction process in the upstream area, some pipes are broken, tanks are damaged, water is unsanitary and unstable.
The cause was determined to be prolonged heavy rain combined with steep terrain and un placement, unsecured dumping site, causing soil and rocks to flow directly downstream.
From this result, Tung Ba commune requested Ton Tho Agricultural Lam Construction Investment Joint Stock Company to temporarily suspend the construction of items at risk of landslides, urgently overcome and return production land to the people.
Enterprises must repair, dredge water tanks, and supplement pipelines to ensure clean water for households affected in Ban Kieng and Hong Minh villages.
At the same time, the company needs to dredge streams, canals, leveling, embankments to prevent landslides and develop a plan to establish a new dumping site, coordinate with the People's Committee of the commune and the Village Management Board to survey the safe location.
The Tung Ba commune government also requested the enterprise to coordinate in counting the damage, counting and developing a compensation, support and compensation plan for each affected household, to fulfill the commitment.
The People's Committee of the commune is responsible for monitoring, urging the progress of the repair, promptly reporting the problems and coordinating with specialized agencies to assess the current status of the project, environment, and waste dump.
The commune also proposed that the province and relevant departments inspect and evaluate the environmental impact, construction quality and dam safety, and at the same time set up markers to determine the area of affected land and forests for long-term management.
Previously, on October 14, the Department of Industry and Trade of Tuyen Quang province chaired a dialogue meeting between people, commune authorities and investors to clarify recommendations and agree on solutions.
On the side of Ton Tho Agricultural Lam Company, a representative admitted that there was a situation of landslides and lack of water, and said that construction had been temporarily suspended since May 2025. The enterprise is committed to completing all repair contents before October 31.
The Ban Kieng hydropower project is invested by Ton Tho Agricultural Lam Construction Investment Joint Stock Company, with an installed capacity of 3.6MW, started construction around 2005, expected to generate electricity in the first quarter of 2020.
In 2024, the project will be restarted, with a completion date for the third quarter of this year. However, there have been almost no construction activities at the construction site for many months.
