Hanoi proposes inviting foreign consultants to contribute 'vision' to dike and irrigation planning

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen said the city has basically completed the dike and irrigation planning project, but needs more international advice to ensure a long-term vision.

Many residential areas in Da Phuc commune, Hanoi are deeply flooded - Photo: PHAM TUAN

Mr. Nguyen Manh Quyen - Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee - said that the master plan for dikes and irrigation in Hanoi has basically been completed. However, he suggested adding a foreign consulting unit to contribute 'vision' to the project.

Hanoi is ready to operate pumping stations to drain water in flooded suburban areas.

According to Tuoi Tre Online on October 12, although the flood on Cau River has begun to recede, many areas in Trung Gia and Da Phuc communes (Hanoi) are still deeply inundated due to the flood that began on October 9.

In Trung Gia commune, there are still 7 flooded villages. It is expected that on October 12, the water will basically recede, except for An Lac and Hoa Binh villages, which still have some flooded spots about 1.5m deep.

In Da Phuc commune alone, the railway erosion incident on October 9 in Trung Gia commune caused floodwaters from upstream to flow in, deeply inundating 15 residential areas and submerging thousands of hectares of rice and crops.

According to Mr. Nguyen Ba Hoang - Chairman of Trung Gia Commune People's Committee - after the flood recedes, the commune will focus on environmental sanitation and let students return to school next week.

"Currently, students have been out of school for more than 5 days. We will calculate to let students return to school as soon as possible.

In addition, the commune will focus on propaganda and ensuring absolute safety for people's lives during times of high flood waters. Currently, many traffic works in the commune have been damaged and eroded a lot. We hope that Hanoi City will direct and repair the roads soon after the flood recedes," said Mr. Hoang.

15 residential areas in Da Phuc commune are still deeply flooded - Photo: PHAM TUAN

Regarding necessities and food distributed to people in flooded areas, Mr. Hoang said the commune has ensured and fully distributed them to the people.

According to the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Environment, after the water level on the Cau River has dropped below the warning level 3, the unit will operate 5 pumping stations continuously for 2 days to drain water for residential areas in the 2 communes of Soc Son and Trung Gia. Then, it will continue pumping water for 3 more consecutive days to drain the entire flooded area.

Proposal to add foreign consulting units on dike and irrigation planning in Hanoi

Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen reports at the meeting on the afternoon of October 11 - Photo: PHAM TUAN

Previously, in a meeting held on the afternoon of October 11 to assess the situation and discuss solutions to respond to flooding after storm No. 11, Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen said that the flooding in the inner city and suburbs caused by storms No. 10 and 11 was a "historic flood".

He said that recently, Hanoi has had to undergo major impacts due to storms on top of storms, floods on top of floods, very unique.

"In that situation, Hanoi received special attention from the Government, the Prime Minister, and close direction from the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee. Especially the City Chairman, although accompanying the working delegation of Party and State leaders, still gave regular direction," said Mr. Quyen.

According to Mr. Quyen, this is an opportunity for Hanoi to "test fire" with a new model from natural disaster prevention to implementing a civil defense model.

"Realizing the situation, I also proposed and directed the Capital Command to be the focal point and comprehensive in coordinating all military units to avoid confusion, so it is very proficient in preventing water from overflowing from the dike into residential areas," Mr. Quyen reported.

Regarding the incident of water eroding the railway in Trung Gia commune, causing flooding in many houses, Mr. Quyen assessed that there had never been a similar incident in history. At that time, the city had developed a plan and was ready to evacuate more than 36,000 people in the affected area.

In the coming time, implementing the direction of the Chairman of Hanoi City, Mr. Quyen said he will focus on handling drainage issues to prevent flooding in the inner city area.

Regarding long-term solutions related to dikes and irrigation in Hanoi, Mr. Nguyen Manh Quyen said that the irrigation sector has basically completed planning the entire dike and irrigation system.

"However, I also propose to the Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee to add a foreign consulting unit to have their vision and thinking, together with the consulting unit so that Hanoi has a system that is both solid in the short term and stable in the long term" - he suggested.

According to Mr. Quyen, after the Hanoi Party Congress, the city's leaders will sit together to listen and discuss to perfect the content of the dike planning that has just been included in the city's medium-term public investment plan for 2026-2030.

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PHAM TUAN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ha-noi-de-xuat-moi-tu-van-nuoc-ngoai-gop-tam-nhin-quy-hoach-de-dieu-thuy-loi-20251012150349869.htm