PM agrees to cancel 424 unqualified hydro projects

Minister Vu Huy Hoang released the information on Monday, October 14, when he briefed the National Assembly on the results of re-examination of the planning for all hydro projects across the country.

These 424 projects, including six cascade hydropower plants and the rest being small hydro systems, were crossed out since they will bring low economic efficiency while having many negative impacts on the environment and society, and affecting the planning of other projects, the minister said.

Of the remaining 815 projects, 268 have been operating with a total capacity of 14,240.5 MW, 205 are being constructed and the rest are being considered, he added.

The Prime Minister earlier agreed to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s proposal to cancel the two controversial projects Dong Nai 6 and Dong Nai 6A on the Dong Nai River.

The PM also required that concerned agencies draw lessons from the two cancelled projects to avoid wastefulness, the minister said.

When asked by NA deputy chairman Huynh Ngoc Son about whether the Song Tranh 2 Hydropower Plant, in Quang Nam Province’s Bac Tra My District, where  over 50 earthquakes has occurred for the past few years, will be also removed from the list of national hydropower projects, Hoang said the Government is considering this issue.

For safety reasons, the plant’s reservoir is now allowed to store water at 4-5 meters below the dead water level, pending results of some observations that help assess the safety condition of the plant, the minister said.

The strongest-ever quake in Bac Tra My occurred on November 15, 2012, measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale. It lasted for several seconds, panicking thousands of locals, who rushed out of their houses.