Iron mining commune enters city hoping to upgrade infrastructure

Happy to be "up" to the city

On January 3, 3 days after Thach Khe commune was merged into Ha Tinh city, Ms. Tran Thi Buoi (74 years old, residing in Thanh Lan village, Thach Khe commune) shared that she was very happy. Because, for a long time, she never thought that this commune, which was involved in the planning of the Thach Khe iron mine project, would one day be merged into the city.

“What I want most now is for the Government to soon make a decision to stop the exploitation of the Thach Khe iron mine so that our people can feel secure. So that the government has a basis to invest in transport infrastructure, and to provide land for families in need when their children get married, separate households, and need to live separately,” Ms. Buoi shared.

Mr. Tran Van Hoi (53 years old, residing in Thanh Lam village) was also excited when Thach Khe commune where his family lived was merged into Ha Tinh city.

According to Mr. Hoi, his wish and perhaps the wish of most people in the communes affected by the Thach Khe iron mine project is to stop exploiting this iron mine so that the locality can remove the suspended planning, receive attention to investing in developing infrastructure and public works, so that people's lives can be improved and raised.

Adjacent to Thach Khe commune, many people in Dinh Ban commune also shared the joy and pride when Dinh Ban commune was merged into Ha Tinh city from January 1, 2025.

They share the same earnest wish that the Government soon decide to end the exploitation of the Thach Khe iron mine so that people can live in peace, without worrying that one day, the Thach Khe iron mine will be exploited again and they will have to relocate and resettle again.

Looking for infrastructure investment

Mr. Pham Cong Tung - Chairman of Dinh Ban Commune People's Committee - said that among the communes affected by the Thach Khe iron mine project, Dinh Ban commune is the most difficult. Because this is the commune merged from Thach Ban commune and Thach Dinh commune, the two poorest and most difficult communes in the iron mine area.

“Our commune currently has nearly 10% poor and near-poor households. People’s lives in general are still very difficult. Due to the long-term suspension of the Thach Khe iron mine, the traffic infrastructure has deteriorated, schools have deteriorated, and the committee hall is narrow but has not been invested in upgrading or repairing,” Mr. Tung shared.

According to Mr. Tung, currently Dinh Ban commune lacks clean water for daily use (more than 2,200 households but only 600 households have access to clean water during the rainy season. In the summer, those 600 households also do not have enough water to use because the raw water source for clean water production is lacking).

Furthermore, Dinh Ban commune does not have water from irrigation works to serve irrigation and agricultural production. Therefore, farmers can only grow rice once a year thanks to rainwater, so productivity is low.

The Chairman of the People's Committee of Dinh Ban commune hopes that the Government will soon stop exploiting the Thach Khe iron mine so that the higher authorities have a basis to invest in developing the communes affected by the iron mine project.

Dinh Ban commune has been merged into Ha Tinh city. In the coming time, we hope that the superiors will pay attention and arrange the budget to invest in traffic infrastructure, repair schools, commune halls, invest in clean water projects, irrigation works for agricultural production... so that the local economy and society can have a new step of development, rise up, and be worthy of a commune that has "become" a city.