Project behind schedule
The Cao Bang Province Reservoir Cluster Project was approved for investment under Decision No. 3108/QD-BNN dated August 17, 2022 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (old). The total investment is 261 billion VND, using State budget capital managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MONRE).
The project includes 3 reservoirs of Khuoi Dang (built in Nam Tuan commune, Hoa An commune), Khuoi Khoang and Pac Thang (Vinh Quy commune). The project implementation period is around 2022-2025.
These 3 reservoirs were built with the goal of providing stable irrigation water for 385 hectares of cultivated land, providing domestic water for about 8,933 people, developing aquaculture, preventing forest fires and improving the ecological environment.
On September 22, present at the construction site of Khuoi Dang irrigation lake (in Nam Tuan commune), reporters recorded the actual construction situation here. Accordingly, the contractor is focusing mainly on the items of leveling the ground and tarpaulin hills to create an irrigation lake shape.
Others are processing iron and welding to erect the frame of the valve doors along with some other items. Seen from above, the entire construction site is in disarray. With the current situation, the plan to complete irrigation lakes in 2025 seems impossible.
Inadequacies
A resident of Vinh Quy commune shared: "The project has been under construction for quite a while but is still not finished, people are looking forward to it. We have also proposed to the Provincial People's Council on progress as well as investment in additional ditches, pipes, and water discharge points for people to facilitate irrigation".
Regarding this issue, the People's Committee of Cao Bang province informed that on June 16, 2025, it had directed the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to coordinate with relevant parties to conduct a field inspection to resolve the issues according to voters' recommendations.
According to PV's research, in the second quarter of 2025, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Cao Bang province (investor) conducted a monitoring and had a report assessing the investment in the first 6 months of 2025 in the project.
The construction units of the above project, including the Joint Venture of Construction Investment and Rural Development Joint Stock Company - Bang Ninh Construction and Investment Company Limited - Ngoc Truong Construction and Trading Company Limited - Cao Bang I Rural Development and Construction Joint Stock Company, won the bid with a price of approximately 178 billion VND.
Regarding this construction package, Irrigation Construction Joint Stock Company I said that the bid evaluation process was un obstructive, with many requests to clarify personnel and certificates that were not in accordance with regulations, affecting competition opportunities. The company recommended because their dossier had a discount of more than 2 billion VND but was not considered for opening a financial proposal.
Meanwhile, the Irrigation Department affirmed that the contractor did not meet the requirements of the same contract and had never sent a document requesting clarification of the bidding documents during the time of issuance of documents, so the recommendation was "unjustified".
