Close-up of Ban Mong Reservoir, costing over 5,550 billion, 'lying still' for 15 years

TPO - After 15 years, the Ban Mong Reservoir Project in Yen Hop Commune, Quy Hop District, Nghe An Province has yet to be completed and put into operation as planned. The project has a total investment of more than VND5,550 billion. On October 31, the Investigation Police Agency - Ministry of Public Security initiated a case related to this project.

TPO - After 15 years, the Ban Mong Reservoir Project in Yen Hop Commune, Quy Hop District, Nghe An Province has yet to be completed and put into operation as planned. The project has a total investment of more than VND5,550 billion. On October 31, the Investigation Police Agency - Ministry of Public Security initiated a case related to this project.

The Ban Mong Reservoir Project is invested in construction on the upper reaches of the Hieu River in Yen Hop Commune, Quy Hop District. The project was approved in 2009 with an investment of more than VND 3,700 billion. The project was later adjusted to increase the total investment to more than VND 5,550 billion. The project is invested by the Irrigation Investment and Construction Management Board 4, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

According to the design, the reservoir is 25 square kilometers wide, mainly located in Quy Chau, Quy Hop, Nghia Dan districts (Nghe An province) and partly in Nhu Xuan district (Thanh Hoa) with a capacity of 225 million cubic meters of water.

Ban Mong is the largest irrigation project in Nghe An, providing irrigation water for nearly 19,000 hectares along Hieu River, supplying water to Ca River in the dry season with a flow of about 22 m3/s and for civil industry, livestock and aquaculture.

In addition, the project also participates in combining power generation with a capacity of 45MW (hydroelectric plant located in the main dam body), improving the environment, and partially reducing floods for the downstream area of ​​Hieu River.

According to the design, the main dam is built of concrete, 221 m long, over 45 m high; the spillway consists of 5 compartments, each compartment is 75 m wide. In the main dam body is a hydroelectric plant with a capacity of 45 MW.

After 15 years of construction, this project is still "lying still", unable to be completed and put into operation. This has led to many consequences for local people when the project has not been completed, leading to traffic works, infrastructure, and resettlement areas not being implemented as planned.

Currently, some items inside the project have been completed. However, some buildings have not been used yet and are showing signs of deterioration.

The project's dam system has been completed but is not yet filled with water.

Inside the dam body there have been damages and landslides.

The 5 spillway chambers on the main dam have been completed but the spillway operating equipment has not been installed.

The spillway system on the main dam body has not been fully installed.

Many items are still unfinished on the main dam body.

Installed a long time ago but not working so some screws are rusted.

The project site is overgrown with weeds. Some people bring their cattle and goats to graze.

Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued a directive requiring units to focus on completing work steps according to their functions and tasks so that the project is on schedule and investment efficiency is promoted. The functional units are also determined to complete site clearance before July 31, 2025; ensuring the completion of phase 1 before December 31, 2025.

On October 31, the Investigation Police Agency - Ministry of Public Security initiated a case of "Violating accounting regulations causing serious consequences" and "Violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences" occurring at Department 4 (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) and related units during the investment and implementation of the Ban Mong Reservoir Project.

The investigation agency determined that this project was behind schedule and had to adjust the total investment many times, causing great waste to the state budget.

Currently, the Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Agency has prosecuted and applied preventive measures against 8 defendants, including leaders and officers of Department 4 and leaders and officers of Hoang Dan Company.

Ngoc Tu

Source: https://tienphong.vn/can-canh-ho-chua-nuoc-ban-mong-hon-5550-ty-nam-im-suot-15-nam-post1687947.tpo