The ongoing construction of a power-plant dam in Quang Nam Province has run into opposition following complaints it diverts the flow of water from one river to another. Huynh Van Thang, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Department in neighbouring Da Nang City, said the Ministry of Industry and Trade should immediately stop construction of the Dak Mi 4 plant’s main dam because it threatened to dry up the lower section of a branch of Vu Gia River.
His agency plans to petition the Da Nang People’s Committee to take up the issue with the ministry since the city would be among the areas affected, with thousands of its residents facing a severe water shortage, especially from January to September
The dam’s plan envisages releasing water after use for generating power not back into Vu Gia but into Thu Bon River.
In April 2007, the Viet Nam Urban and Industrial Zone Development Company began construction of the 190 MW Dak Mi 4 hydro-power plant at a cost of VND4.6 trillion (US$258.2 million).
Thang said earlier this month the ministry established a team of experts to assess the problems but the team was yet to begin working while construction had been hastened.
The Da Nang administration wanted the ministry to ensure the plant’s design is changed but the ministry rejected the demand, saying it is not a large project and is being built on just a branch of Vu Gia River, thus not greatly impacting its flow.
The power plant and dam are expected to be completed in 2011.