Promoting investment attraction and development of irrigation infrastructure

Investment in irrigation infrastructure development

At the end of March, the Project to Restore and Upgrade the Northern Nghe An Irrigation System (JICA2) funded by JICA with a total cost of VND 5,705 billion was officially completed.

The Northern Irrigation System in Do Luong is being invested synchronously. Photo: Hoang Vinh

This is a large irrigation project, built by the French, spanning 4 districts and 1 town; accounting for 25% of the total irrigated cultivated area. Because the project was built a long time ago, it has seriously degraded, its water supply capacity has decreased, is unstable, and cannot meet the requirements for agricultural production, people's lives, and other economic sectors.

Given that reality, the project has been approved by the Government for investment since 2012. The project uses ODA loans from the Japanese Government, counterpart funds from the Central budget and Nghe An province. In 2016, the project was started. The completion and operation of the project is of great significance to the province's agriculture.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Hung - Director of the Management Board of Construction Investment Projects - Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said: The project to restore and upgrade the Northern Nghe An Irrigation System - JICA2 includes many items such as: Upgrading the irrigation system, Do Luong dam, Trang Son sluice, main canal, level 1, 2, 3 branch canals, works on the canal, drainage system level, dredging of 3 drainage axes and expansion of Dien Thanh sluice. The project is constructed by capable and experienced contractors inside and outside the province.
The completion of this project has significantly contributed to providing irrigation water for more than 28,000 hectares of agricultural land and serving industrial production, and domestic water for nearly 1 million people in Do Luong, Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, Quynh Luu districts and Hoang Mai town. At the same time, it has also reduced flooding for 1,920 hectares of low-lying areas in Yen Thanh and Dien Chau districts. The project has contributed to increasing the province's food output by about 134,000 tons/year.

Implementing the construction of Lam River embankment project. Photo: Hoang Vinh

In addition to the above key project, in recent times, the agricultural sector has made efforts to attract many key irrigation infrastructure projects such as: The project to repair and upgrade the dyke system in the Ca River basin, with a total investment of VND 975,920 billion, the allocated and disbursed budget is VND 290,901 billion; The project to prevent landslides to protect the Ta Lam dyke in Yen Xuan area, Hung Nguyen district under the Government's socio-economic recovery and development program; The project to strengthen the dyke system in Nghe An province in the period of 2021-2025; The project to urgently handle weak culverts under the dyke in Nghe An province under the project to urgently handle weak culverts under the dyke from level III dykes and above; Ban Mong Reservoir Project (phase 2); Khe Lai - Vuc Mau Irrigation System Project; The project to restore and upgrade the Bac Irrigation System...

Up to now, the Project to Repair and Upgrade the Dike System of the Ca River Basin has completed some components such as the Lam dike section from K18 -:- K25+546.5, Thanh Chuong district, dike 3-2, Nam Kim isolation dike, Nam Dan district. Currently, the investor and contractor are making efforts to construct other items of the project such as repairing and upgrading the Cat Van, Phong Thinh, Thanh Lien, Thanh Tien dikes and the construction road in Thanh Chuong district...

Efforts to attract capital

In recent times, the Agriculture and Rural Development sector has been active in mobilizing central capital sources and ODA capital to continue to focus on developing agricultural infrastructure and rural development, focusing on irrigation projects. In 2022, the sector mobilized 232,679 billion VND from the central budget; 254.99 billion VND from ODA capital. In 2023, 408 billion VND was mobilized from the central budget and 477 billion VND from ODA capital to invest in irrigation systems throughout the province.

Bara Nam Dan is invested synchronously. Photo: Hoang Vinh

In particular, in early April, the Lam River dam was approved by the Government as a priority project for planning, disaster prevention and control and irrigation. The project is divided into investment phases: 2021 - 2025 and 2026 - 2030 and the priority capital is from the State budget, ODA, and foreign preferential loans. The dam project on the Lam River will help prevent salinity, retain fresh water and improve the environment in the face of salinity intrusion due to the impact of climate change, rising sea levels affecting production and daily life...

Construction of upgrading the Northern irrigation canal system. Photo: Hoang Vinh

In the coming time, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will continue to mobilize and attract investment in developing agricultural infrastructure systems to meet the development requirements of the new stage, in which priority will be given to completing key irrigation works; investing in repairing, upgrading and renovating reservoirs, dams, pumping stations, canals, and dike systems to meet irrigation and drainage requirements to adapt to climate change, proactively prevent, combat and mitigate natural disasters; Improve the effectiveness of disaster risk management by applying modern technology in forecasting, warning and preventing and combating natural disasters...

At the same time, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is also making efforts to attract investment in 4 major project programs including: Sustainable Aquaculture Development Project, WB loan; Smart Vegetable and Fruit Value Chain Infrastructure Development Project Adapting to Climate Change (WB loan); Clean Water and Sustainable Rural Sanitation Project and Climate Change Response in Nghe An Province, 2022-2027 (WB loan); Lam River Water Level Regulation and Raising Project in combination with traffic bridges and mobilizing other central capital sources to develop irrigation infrastructure systems, meeting the needs of modern agricultural production, associated with climate change adaptation, environmental protection...

Nguyen Hao - Deputy Director of Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

Source: https://baonghean.vn/day-manh-thu-hut-dau-tu-phat-trien-ha-tang-thuy-loi-post287846.html