Before the durian garden with an area of about 5,000m2 "dold up and dead" next to the Can Tho - Ca Mau expressway through Hau Giang province, on the afternoon of June 12, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters had a working session with the construction unit, VNCN E&C Construction and Engineering Investment Joint Stock Company (contractor VNCN E&C).
At the meeting, the representative of VNCN E&C contractor said that they still have to wait for the results of sample testing from specialized agencies to accurately determine the cause of the affected durian trees.
The contractor's representative informed that by the end of 2024, the trees will still grow well. From January to February 2025, the contractor will complete the sand foundation and wait for the load. In February - March 2025, the plant will still grow well. Then around April - May 2025, it is unclear why durian trees are withered (the unit filmed Flycam every month).
The contractor's representative also stated that the sand for the expressway is taken from river sand sources in mines according to the specific mechanism of the project such as: Dong Thap, An Giang, Vinh Long...
Previously, at noon of the same day (June 12), My Thuan Project Management Board (PMU), Phung Hiep District Plant Protection Center, local authorities, construction units, and durian growing households were affected, ... and had a working session on the above situation.
According to the minutes of this meeting, Mr. Vo Trung Tinh (Head of Chin Em - Ba Cooperative) requested the construction unit to compensate and support with the amount of 3.18 billion VND. This includes the cost of payment in 2025 and the entire productivity loss in 2025 and the next 2 years after the tree recovery (due to no revenue and profit in the next 2 years).
Mr. Le Van Tran - Head of the Plant Protection Center of Phung Hiep district - commented that the survey found that some trees in the garden had dried up and withered, and the trees had poor development. In the garden ditch, sand overflows into the bottom of the ditch, so it is likely to create a low pH.
To have a basis to resolve the incident, the My Thuan Project Management Board has requested the People's Committee of Long Thanh commune (Phung Hiep district) to prepare a clear report on the actual status of the durian garden affected. This document will help the investor and the construction unit have enough information to submit to the insurance agency for appraisal of the damage level and decide on compensation and support policies for households, in case the error is determined to be due to the construction process.
Previously, as reported by Lao Dong Newspaper, a 5,000m2 durian garden of a household in Long Thanh Commune, Phung Hiep District, Hau Giang Province is in a state of "dead and unfinished". With 120 9-year-old durian trees, last year, the durian output of this garden reached 10 - 12 tons, bringing in an income of about 1 billion VND. However, this year, households are completely "empty-handed" when their crops are seriously depleted from February to March 2025.
Although the household has made efforts to take care of them periodically, the trees are still dry, producing black and white fruits of such poor quality that they cannot be consumed, and some of them are rotten. More seriously, the water in the garden is also contaminated with heavy metals and the pH concentration cannot be measured, causing even the intercrops to not grow.
According to this household, the main cause of the tree exhaustion is that the expressway passing through the area has blocked the garden's natural drainage flow.
