A lot of hydropower plant projects have been implemented in Sa Pa town, a well-known tourism site, threatening to put the wonderful landscape into oblivion. Five hydropower plant projects would be considered a small number if noting that there are 123 hydropower plants in the whole northern province of Lao Cai.
However, the noteworthy thing is that all the five plants are located on the Muong Hoa valley, which would tear the beautiful land.
A hydropower plant would arise amid the national relic – the Su Pan 1 plant in Sa Pa district would be set up on the Sa Pa ancient rock area, which was recognized as a national relic in 1994.
The project had been approved by most of the relevant state agencies before it was consulted with the Lao Cai Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
However, since the department is not powerful enough, it has to entreat help from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Over the last year, culturists and environmentalists have been struggling hard to request to stop building a hydropower plant in the area.
However, they have been facing a lot of barriers during the struggle. The investor has committed that the project would not damage any rock of the relic. Meanwhile, the department believes that it’s necessary to anticipate the impacts on the relic and the environment. And historians have warned that the construction of hydropower plant dam may sink the unexcavated rocks.
Even after a fact finding trip to the area, expected to become the construction site, was organized in mid-August, the involved parties still keep arguing violently about whether to set up a power plant on the site.
Pham Hai Ha, General Director of the Viet Long Industrial Company, the investor of the Su Pan 1 hydropower plant, has stated on Tuoi tre newspaper that the company would sue the local department of culture, tourism and sports, if the company cannot build up a power plant here as previously scheduled.
“We have not done any harm to your rocks at all. We have spent tens of billions of dong, and now you tell us to stop. Why didn’t you say so before?” he said violently, adding that if the company brings the case to the court, the local department would lose the lawsuit.
However, Tran Huu Son, Director of the Lao Cai Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said one should anticipate that the power plant would damage the whole prosperous valley, while this is not only the story of some ancient rocks.
“Tourists have left, foreign experts have given warnings, but hydropower plants still have arisen,” Son complained.
“When we ask to reconsider the project, the Industry and Trade Department expressed its dissatisfaction, the people’s committee has shown its unpleasant attitude while the investor has hated us,” he added. Meanwhile, there has been no reliable scientific argument which can be sure that the project would not harm the beautiful landscape and the environment.
Power plant arises, tourism industry would disappear
Hydropower plants have become the obsession not only of the Sa Pa ancient rock areas, but also of the tourism villages.
The tourism department has released a report showing that the number of visitors to the land areas where there are hydropower plants such as Ta Van and Ban Ho has dropped dramatically by 80 percent in comparison with 2006, the time when the first hydropower plants were built.
An ninh thu do has reported that Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has requested local authorities to check the program on hydropower plant development in the localities and eliminate the projects which have bad impacts on the environment.