Lesson 1: Hardships endured

Working together with unity of purpose to overcome difficulties and build the Kho Vàng village resettlement area:

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December 12, 2024 Views :
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We arrived at the Kho Vang resettlement area (Coc Lau commune, Bac Ha district, Lao Cai province) when it was just a small plot of land, a few hundred square meters in size, hastily leveled for the groundbreaking ceremony. Today, that empty plot of land has been transformed into a residential area with 35 sturdy houses. This achievement is thanks to the efforts of the local authorities, the people of Lao Cai, and especially the management board, contractors, and workers… They worked with determination and willpower, overcoming the sun and rain, and completing the project ahead of schedule.

On the day construction began, the resettlement area was just an empty plot of land that had been hastily leveled.

Today, there are 35 sturdy, solid houses here.

I recall that on September 21st, the Vietnam National Petroleum Corporation, in coordination with the authorities of Lao Cai province, Bac Ha district, and Coc Lau commune, held a groundbreaking ceremony for a reconstruction project for dozens of households who lost their homes and were located in a high-risk landslide area of Kho Vang village.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Nghi, Secretary of the Party Committee of Coc Lau commune, said that the selection of the location for the new resettlement area for 35 households in Kho Vang village was carefully studied by relevant agencies and departments of the province, district, and commune. Initially, 3-4 options were proposed, but only one option was chosen: building houses in a stepped, gently sloping style on the hillsides. This is a fairly stable location, with no more barren hills around that could cause cracks or collapse. Furthermore, according to the customs of the Mong and Dao ethnic groups, they prefer to live in higher ground rather than in lower areas.

Because the construction was done in a "stepped" manner, the resettlement area needed to be reinforced with stone walls, gabions, etc.

“For generations, the Hmong people have chosen precarious locations near mountain peaks to settle, so the selection of a new resettlement area for them must also ensure this factor. In addition, provincial authorities have consulted with many scientists and geologists regarding this choice. They all agree that simply implementing solutions such as constructing stone walls to reinforce the hillside, pouring concrete or reinforcing the base of each house with gabions, and ensuring drainage channels allow water to drain quickly… With such measures, the people can settle down with peace of mind,” Mr. Nghi said.

Although this choice received widespread public support and consensus, it placed the management board and construction contractors in an extremely difficult situation.

The difficulty lies in the fact that building houses requires a level surface, while the hilly terrain is not a single flat surface but rather has many "steps," forcing construction to be done in a staggered manner. This means that instead of clearing just one level of land, the management board and contractor have to clear 5-7 different levels, progressively higher. For example, the "first floor" can accommodate 3 apartments, the "second floor" 3 apartments, the "third floor" 3 apartments, the "fourth floor" 8 apartments, the "fifth floor" 1 apartment... up to the eighth floor. Clearing the land for the residential area alone has consumed considerable time and effort.

The high altitude makes it difficult to bring machinery, equipment, and materials to the construction site. (Photo: Lao Cai Newspaper)

Furthermore, transporting construction materials to the site for construction also encountered many difficulties. Mr. Do Thanh Luan, the official in charge of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs in Coc Lau commune, shared that in the early days of the reconstruction, the management board and the contractor faced countless difficulties due to the hilly terrain and steep slopes, requiring them to "cut down trees and rake the soil" to build roads. Moreover, torrential forest rains turned the roads into muddy puddles, causing even single-axle and double-axle vehicles to get stuck.

I still remember the day we hiked up the road leading to the resettlement area; it was a real challenge. Even with specialized vehicles clearing the way, we still had to overcome many steep slopes, where every step tested the courage of anyone.

The road surface was covered in red mud, becoming as slippery as grease after every rain. Rainwater runoff eroded the ground, creating deep, mottled trenches everywhere. The rainwater also turned the soil into a soft, porous mass – anyone careless could easily slip through and lose their shoes.

To create the current site and transportation system, the construction unit had to level hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of earth and rock. (Photo: Lao Cai Newspaper)

Mr. Bui Van Thang, the manager of one of the many construction teams at the site, told us that when they received the request to build nearly a dozen new houses here, with its great social significance, all the workers in his team were determined to "overcome the sun and rain" to carry out the work from digging foundations, pouring concrete, and completing the project in the shortest time and with the best quality.

Anticipating that heavy rain could affect the transportation of materials, Mr. Thang discussed with the contractor the need to mobilize four-wheel drive vehicles and excavators. For sections of road that were too difficult to navigate, excavators would be used to level the ground, or trucks would be used to transport the materials in an effort to ensure sufficient supplies were delivered.

According to Mr. Thang, to ensure the progress, the workers are willing to work overtime and night shifts. It is expected that the rough construction of a house will be completed in about 10 days, while the finishing work will be completed by the end of December…

Minh Tien

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Source: https://www.pvn.vn/chuyen-muc/tap-doan/tin/b46e1ef3-8811-4321-b0e3-812c3d4d35b4