Da Den hydropower project has little completed after seven years
The Ministry of Industry and Trade discovered the environmental abuse while carrying out inspections at small and medium-sized hydropower projects.
Phu Yen Province has about ten small hydropower projects with three of them still under construction. However, only the La Hieng 2 Project has neared completion.
The construction work for Da Den Hydropower Project in Hoa My Tay Commune seems abandoned, yet the exploitation of local forests seems to have accelerated.
Phu Yen Department of Industry and Trade said the project had begun construction in August 2005. Later, the investors said they had problems in sourcing capital, leaving 80% of the project uncompleted despite a targeted operational date in 2013.
"It looks like they cleared the road just to exploit timber, as their trucks only seem to be used to transport the wood," Luong Thai Hoa, a local in Hoa My Tay Commune said.
Khe Cach Hydropower Project has completed just 10% of its work in seven years. The only real construction work was a road into the local woodland, while the remainder of the project remains untouched.
The same situation can be found replicated in Khanh Hoa Province. Construction for the Song Giang 2 hydropower project began in 2006 and while construction on the hydropower plant remains stagnant, over 200 hectares of forested land nearby has been exploited.
Nguyen Duy Phu, an official from the Ministry of Industry and Trade asked the authorities in Phu Yen Province to withdraw the licenses from stagnant projects that affected local people’s lives and environment.
Referring to the Khe Cach Hydropower Project, Director of Phu Yen Department of Industry and Trade Dao Tan Cam said, "We proposed that Phu Yen People's Committee withdraw the licensing for projects three years ago because of the evident poor financial capacity of its investors, but it's still on the list."
The authorities had originally banned work on the Da Den Hydropower Project, but later agreed to let the investors have a second chance after they proposed adjusted designs.
Project head engineer Pham Trong Tu said "We are having troubles in finding capital. We'll try to complete the construct by the end of the year.”
Despite his promise, some of the key documents such as documents related to the reservoirs haven't been approved.
Ho Van Tien, spokesman of Phu Yen Province said due to the ineffective hydropower projects, they haven't granted permission to any other projects even if it is in the planning or not.
