On March 6, Mr. Le Xuan Loi, Vice Chairman of Bac Ninh Provincial People's Committee, directly inspected and directed the urgent repair of the subsidence incident of Tao Khe canal through Mai O village, Mo Dao commune, Que Vo town.

Here, Mr. Loi requested the Bac Ninh Transport and Agriculture Project Management Board to coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Environment to urgently deploy solutions to thoroughly handle the subsidence phenomenon at Tao Khe canal.

In particular, focusing on the conditions to start construction of upgrading, renovating, and hardening the Thai Hoa 1 irrigation canal this April. Along with that, it is necessary to conduct surveys, develop plans to adjust the design solutions for the road section with weak soil, and reinforce the embankment system with reinforced concrete piles.

"Before October, the investor will coordinate with Bac Duong Irrigation Works Exploitation Company Limited to simultaneously repair the water seepage through the road body, ensure the safety of the canal roof after reinforcement, and strive to complete the Tao Khe drainage canal renovation and upgrade project in 2025," Mr. Loi emphasized.

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Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Xuan Loi (far left) inspects the subsidence areas of Tao Khe canal.

It is known that the project to renovate and upgrade the Tao Khe drainage canal (section from Tram bridge to Chi regulation) is invested by the Bac Ninh Project Management Board for Investment in Construction of Agricultural Works and Rural Development (now the Bac Ninh Project Management Board for Transport and Agriculture), with a total cost of nearly 200 billion VND.

The project started in December 2021, and to date the project's construction volume has reached about 70% of its value. However, by December 31, 2024, the project has expired.

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According to VietNamNet reporters, in the Chi River embankment area (Mo Dao commune, Que Vo town, Bac Ninh province), there is a very serious landslide situation, many concrete sections have peeled off, broken, and fallen into the river.

Currently, the main section of the Tao Khe canal from K8+187-K8+880 is sinking. Through on-site inspection, the part of the structure that has sunk is the reinforced concrete embankment section about 50m long from K8+800-K8+850; the two banks of the canal from K8+187-K8+880 have landslides.

According to the investor, the cause of the incident was that during the construction process, changes in geology were discovered compared to the accepted geological survey records, the canal bank was mainly weak soil mixed with organic impurities.

The investor reported to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (now the Department of Agriculture and Environment) to inspect, find out the cause, propose solutions, and request the contractor to stop construction from November 23, 2023 to present.

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Canal slope collapse, concrete road on the left bank of Tao Khe canal through Mai O village.

At the end of 2023, the investor focused on human resources to speed up the adjustment of technical solutions for items to ensure long-term stability of the project. However, because the work of hardening the canal bank was not included in the project, the Department of Agriculture and Environment carried out procedures to adjust the policy to add the above item to the project.

As VietNamNet reported earlier, the project to renovate and upgrade the Tao Khe canal (Bac Ninh) has not been handed over yet, but a series of concrete blocks have slid down the Chi River. The road is also affected, and people hope it will be repaired before the rainy season.