The Tra Vinh Province People’s Committee has approved the construction of two embankment projects worth a total of VND260 billion (US$11 million) to prevent river and coastal erosion.
Planting mangrove forests to protect coastal areas in Tra Vinh Province’s Cau Ngang District.
VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Hoa
A 1.1km embankment section will be built along the Lang The River in Cang Long District’s Dai Phuoc Commune. It will cost VND60 billion and will be built in the 2020-2022 period. When completed, the project will secure the safety of the district’s road along the river, and protect the safety and property of locals.
The other project is a 2.5km embankment along coastal areas in Cau Ngang and Duyen Hai districts and Duyen Hai Town. The project, which will cost VND200 billion, will protect protective forests, fields and sea dykes when it is finished in 2023.
The province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will be the investor for both.
The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province has faced serious erosion along rivers and coastal areas in recent years, affecting agricultural production and the lives of locals.
The province has more than 100 eroded areas along rivers and the coast.
Most river erosion areas are located along the Hau River in Cau Ke, Tieu Can and Tra Cu districts and the Co Chien River in Cang Long, Chau Thanh and Cau Ngang districts and Tra Vinh City.
There are a total of 1.5km of river eroded sections that face an especially dangerous level in the province.
Most coastal erosion areas are on the Nhi Hamlet coast in Cau Ngang District’s My Long Commune, the Hiep Thanh coast in Duyen Hai Town and Nhan Islet in Duyen Hai District.
The province has 8km of coastal sections facing especially dangerous erosion levels.
With a 65km coastline and location between the Tien and Hau rivers, two tributaries of the Mekong River, Tra Vinh has a dense river and canal network.
Dong Van Lam, chairman of the province’s People’s Committee, has asked agencies to survey erosion-prone areas and upgrade river and sea embankments.
Localities should petition the province’s People’s Committee to allocate budget funds for new erosion prevention projects in areas that face dangerous erosion levels, he said.
The province’s People’s Committee has ordered the department to co-operate with relevant agencies and localities to plant more mangrove forests to protect coastal embankments and coastal areas.
Public information activities to prevent illegal encroachment of river banks and coastal areas should be strengthened, said the province’s People’s Committee.
Local people should be instructed to plant trees such as mangrove palm and mangrove apple along river banks to prevent erosion, it said.
The province has invested more than VND1 trillion (US$43 million) to implement erosion prevention projects along rivers and coastal areas in recent years.
The province has nearly 9,000ha of mangrove forests and protective forests which help to prevent erosion along coastal areas.