Serious widespread landslide incident
Recently, the Lam Dong Provincial Construction Investment Project Management Board No. 1 (BQLDA) has submitted a report to the Provincial People's Committee and departments and branches on the implementation of large projects and key projects in December 2025.
In which, the PMB emphasized the work of overcoming the Dong Thanh water reservoir project (Nam Ban Lam Ha commune). The project had to be temporarily suspended from construction from July 2023 due to a landslide incident and has not been able to be overcome to date.
According to the Project Management Board, the Dong Thanh Lake project has a total investment of nearly 500 billion VND, including 26 construction packages.
By mid-2023, 17 bidding packages had been completed, many items reached from 80% to 90% of the volume. The total disbursed value reached more than 342 billion VND.
Specifically, the key project cluster (package No. 13) has been constructed at 82.5% of the contract value (contract value of 145 billion VND, implementation value of 119 billion VND).
However, on July 1, 2023, in the right shoulder hillside area, located outside and adjacent to the construction area of package No. 13, many cracks ranging from 20–30cm wide appeared, running across the production and living area of 3 households.
Over time, the cracks have become increasingly serious, causing landslides and subsidence on an area of about 12.7ha, mainly coffee and mulberry land of the people.
Statistics to date show that the landslide area has 6 level 4 houses affected, of which 3 are completely damaged; 2 houses have many cracks; 1 house has sub-construction cracks.
Immediately after the incident occurred, the investor coordinated with local authorities to relocate and arrange new accommodation for 3 households whose houses were completely damaged, ensuring safety.
Notably, the landslide incident that has lasted from July 2023 to now has seriously damaged part of the flood discharge spillway item, blowing up the concrete roofs of the downstream spillway; the yard of the water intake gate house and the concrete canal section behind the gate house have also been peeled off and tilted.
Taking opinions from Japanese experts to overcome
The landslide incident forced the Dong Thanh Lake project to temporarily suspend construction for many years to determine the cause, assess the level of impact and consider the feasibility of continuing implementation.
Due to landslides occurring on a large area, complicated developments, surveying, assessing the causes and proposing solutions requires long-term monitoring and observation.
Up to now, the consulting unit has sufficient survey and monitoring data to accurately and scientifically assess and determine that the cause of the incident is due to natural disasters.
According to the PMB, the consulting unit has completed the remediation plan to ensure safety for the Dong Thanh Lake project.
Package No. 13 has been insured and the cause of the incident was determined to be natural disasters, so the investor will carry out procedures according to regulations for the insurance unit to pay for damages.
The repair of damaged items belonging to package No. 13 will therefore not increase the total investment of the entire project, while still ensuring technical requirements and project safety.
In particular, to find the optimal solution, the Project Management Board has mobilized opinions from international experts from Kawasaki Company (Japan).
These in-depth opinions help the consulting unit complete the remediation plan, ensuring long-term safety for the project.
Currently, consulting units have explained and clarified the contents according to the requirements of the insurance unit. The investor has also requested the insurance unit to implement the next steps to fulfill insurance obligations during the construction period for package No. 13.
The PMB is proposing to the Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee to consider and agree to continue implementing investment and construction of the project, and at the same time prepare a report proposing to adjust the investment policy of the Dong Thanh water reservoir project.
