The Nam Rom River basin multi-disaster management project in Dien Bien province has a total investment of over VND 981 billion. Of which, the ODA loan from the French Development Agency AFD is 665.5 billion VND; the counterpart capital is 275.028 billion VND and the EU's non-refundable aid capital is 40.5 billion VND.
According to the plan, this project must be completed before December 31, 2025, however, up to now (March 2025), the construction progress has only reached more than 35% of the volume. Therefore, the investor has just proposed to extend the project to extend the implementation period to the end of 2026.
Speaking to Lao Dong Newspaper reporters about this issue, Mr. Nguyen Huu Hiep - Director of the Project Management Board of Agricultural and Rural Development Works of Dien Bien province (investor) said that the main reason for the project to request an extension is due to slow site clearance. In addition, there are reasons for adjusting and supplementing some items.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Hiep also said that on March 19, the People's Committee of Dien Bien province also had a working session with the working delegation of the French Development Agency (AFD) in Vietnam. At the meeting, the leaders of Dien Bien province specifically reported the difficulties that the project is facing, especially in site clearance. Therefore, the province has proposed transferring more than 280 billion VND of unallocated capital to 2026 and extending the project to 2026.
Regarding the site clearance progress, the investor's representative said that in Dien Bien district, the total area to be reclaimed is 332,313.7m2. Up to now, a decision has been issued to reclaim land and a compensation and support plan has been approved with a total reclaimed area of over 227,000m2, reaching 61.3%.
As for the area of Dien Bien Phu City, the total number of households that must reclaim land is 289 households, to date, 275 households have been counted, 272 households have been planned, 175 households have been verified for land origin, 29 households have submitted plans for appraisal and the compensation plan for 21 households has been approved with a total amount of 146 million VND.
Currently, the investor is continuing to request Dien Bien Phu City and Dien Bien District to focus on directing communes and wards within the project scope to speed up the progress of counting the remaining households.
At the same time, direct relevant departments to send staff directly to the grassroots to resolve people's petitions, promptly resolve them during the verification process; hand over the site to the project before June 30, 2025.
Regarding the request to adjust and supplement some items, Mr. Nguyen Huu Hiep said that in recent years, due to the impact of prolonged floods, landslides on the Nam Rom riverbank from Nam Thanh bridge to Ban Phu have occurred, posing a great risk of causing unsafety. Therefore, investing in the construction of additional anti-landslide embankments in this area to reduce damage caused by natural disasters, stabilize the flow and create a landscape in the area.
On the other hand, Thanh Ban Phu is a national historical and cultural relic, an attractive destination for domestic and foreign visitors to Dien Bien. "Therefore, the proposal to add the embankment to the Nam Rom River basin Management Project using reserve funds (residing nearly 105 billion VND) is to make the most of capital and promote the project's effectiveness" - Mr. Hiep said.
Regarding the above issues, the investor has requested the People's Committee of Dien Bien province and the French Development Agency (AFD) to allow adjustment of the project implementation time to December 31, 2026. "The adjustment of the implementation time of this project is within the signed Agreement period" - Mr. Nguyen Huu Hiep added.
