The Lam Dong Provincial People’s Committee has approved an emergency project to repair storm damage on the pass in Xuan Huong-Dalat Ward. Work is expected to take four months.
Preliminary plans include reshaping the slopes and installing reinforcement structures to stabilise the hillside. The provincial Department of Construction said consultants were preparing the design for review and appraisal before construction begins.
Prenn Pass has suffered several landslides following prolonged heavy rain in August and September. On the afternoon of September 19, soil and rocks from an uphill slope near Datanla Waterfall spilled onto the road.
A subsequent inspection by the Department of Construction found that a section of slope about 120 metres long and 20-25 metres high had become unstable and remained at risk of further collapse.
The province declared an emergency natural disaster situation on the pass. Authorities also felled 26 dead or precariously positioned three-needle pine trees on the slope that risked being uprooted and falling onto the road.
Prenn Pass is 7.27km long and is one of the main routes linking National Highway 20 with central Dalat. The road was upgraded and widened to four lanes at a cost of VND 552 billion (about USD 21.3 million), and opened to traffic in early 2024.
