VietNamNet Bridge – Hydropower plants in Ha Giang have caused big changes to the rivers in this beautiful northern area.
With an interlacing river network, Ha Giang for the last 10 years has been the site of several hydropower plants.
The provincial authorities have licensed 72 small- and medium-sized hydropower projects with total designed capacity of 768.8 MW.
In the first phase of hydropower development, in 2005-2010, Ha Giang plans to develop 26 projects with total capacity of 474.9 MW.
The Ministry of Industry also plans to build a hydropower plant on Gam River, within Ha Giang province.
In the second phase, the provincial authorities in August 2008 released a decision on licensing 34 hydropower projects, mostly small ones, with the total capacity of 80 MW.
Later, in September 2009, the local authorities decided to add another nine hydropower projects to the provincial hydropower plant development program.
Nine plants with the total capacity of 154.9 MW were expected to be situated on Lo and Chay Rivers.
In 2011, the provincial authorities once again showed their ambition to develop the local hydropower industry when they licensed two more hydropower projects in March and April – Song Mien 5A and Song Mien 6.
However, in 2013, when experts rang the alarm over the “hydropower syndrome”, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) decided to withdraw 27 projects from Ha Giang’s hydropower project development program.
Nguyen Thanh Hung, head of the power management division of the Ha Giang provincial Industry and Trade Department, said that 46 projects with total capacity of 774.8 MW were still valid, of which 13 projects have been completed, while eight are under construction.
Rivers not flowing
The appearance of hydropower plants within a short time has turned the rivers into dead ones.
“The currents have stopped flowing,” a local man said. “The swift current has been blocked, because the hydropower plants need water to generate electricity.”
“The rivers have been driven to death just because they showed great potential for hydropower development” he said.
Mien River is used for five hydropower plants, three of which have become operational. Song Mien 5A is expected to generate power next month, while Song Mien 4 is planned to be completed by 2017.
Meanwhile, at least three hydropower plants are slated to be located on Nho Que River which runs across Ha Giang’s Meo Vac district.
These include the 110 MW Nho Que 3 Plant, operational since 2012, Nho Que 2, planned to generate power by the end of 2015, and Nho Que 1, which is still under construction.
Lao Dong