Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment inspects the hydroelectric dam collapse incident in Lang Son

Late on the evening of October 7, comrade Nguyen Hoang Hiep, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment, was present at the scene, inspected and directly directed the incident response work at the Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Plant in Tan Tien Commune, Lang Son Province.

Comrade Nguyen Hoang Hiep, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment, discussed with functional forces at the scene of the Bac Khe 1 hydropower dam collapse.

Although the hydroelectric dam broke, thanks to the timely and effective evacuation by local authorities, absolute safety was ensured for local people.

In a quick exchange at the scene, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Hoang Hiep affirmed: "People are absolutely safe. Local authorities have proactively and effectively evacuated people. Up to now, not only people, but also most of the assets have been moved to a safe place."

Comrade Nguyen Hoang Hiep, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment, had a quick exchange with the press.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep analyzed that although the dam of the hydroelectric project broke, the risk of widespread flooding in the downstream area is not great due to the characteristics of the flow at high altitude.

In addition, he also emphasized that urgent remedial measures are being planned. Specifically, forces will approach the project as soon as the weather is more favorable to deploy solutions to limit the breakage, in order to reduce the amount of water discharged downstream.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep assessed that there is currently a paradox in the scale of small hydropower projects. In the case of Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Plant, the design capacity is only 2.4 MW, a very modest number, however, the reservoir capacity is up to 4.8 million m3 of water, which can have a great impact on the downstream area.

“This requires extremely carefully calculated flood prevention and control plans. Such a large reservoir scale means that when an incident occurs, the risks and level of impact will be very serious,” Comrade Nguyen Hoang Hiep affirmed.

Comrade Nguyen Hoang Hiep, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment, and leaders of Lang Son province inspected the scene (Photo: TRI DUNG)

During the inspection, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment pointed out the serious lack of records and technical documents of the factory right at the locality. Because there are no drawings, design diagrams or necessary technical documents at the scene, when an incident occurs, the approaching forces will have difficulty in exchanging and finding solutions.

At the request of the leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment , in the immediate future, Lang Son province needs to review all small hydroelectric reservoirs in the area, along with related disaster prevention plans to ensure that similar incidents do not happen again.

In the long term, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will have general instructions nationwide. The urgent requirement is that localities must be fully equipped with maps, diagrams and all on-site construction design documents to be proactive in all situations.

QUOC DAT

Source: https://nhandan.vn/thu-truong-nong-nghiep-va-moi-truong-kiem-tra-su-co-vo-dap-thuy-dien-tai-lang-son-post913625.html