An 18-km road project has been idle for nearly ten years due to a lack of capital in Nghe An Province.
Ca Moong Village in Luong Minh Commune, Tuong Duong District, is home to some 600 residents of the Kho Mu ethnic group. It lies over 20km from the centre and can be accessed by the only mountainous path.
When a road project was launched on this path in 2011, Ca Moong villagers were delighted. They hoped it would improve travel and accelerate economic development for their poor community once it was completed.
However, the VND195 billion project, planned to be completed in just two and a half years, has faced stagnant progress for almost ten years.
The project has been left abandoned after site clearance work.
The only road leading to the village is now covered in wild grass. Following landslides, large rocks and soil have blocked many sections.
According to local residents, on dry and sunny days, they can still travel out, and it usually takes two hours to finish the 18-km road. But on rainy days, they can only go out by boat.
A resident, Lo Xuan Pon, 50, said that landslides often occur on this road on rainy days.
"We don't dare to go to our farms on this road during rainy days due to fears of landslides," Pon said. "Many people have found other paths much further to travel to the district centre or other villages.
The chairman of the Luong Minh Commune People's Committee, Vi Dinh Phuc, said that the project's unfinished status has caused great inconvenience for local people.
"After the project was launched in 2011, the project's investor, Chuong Duong District People's Committee, received VND70 billion to carry out site clearance work," Phuc said. However, after the district completed 90 percent of the site clearance work, they haven't received any additional capital to continue the project. We've called for support from the province, but there's no response."
A Duong Duong District representative said the project had to be halted due to a lack of capital.
"We've sent a document to the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee and Department of Planning and Investment to halt the project in 2021," the representative said.