Ensuring the safety of people in disaster-stricken areas.

Despite decisions being made or funding allocated for urgent resettlement projects in disaster-prone areas, many projects in Thai Nguyen province are still progressing slowly. Residents risk having to live in precarious and insecure conditions as the 2026 disaster season approaches.

A large landslide occurred above Khuoi Luong village, Ba Be commune, Thai Nguyen province.

Authorities need to quickly resolve obstacles and expedite the progress of these projects to ensure the safety and stability of people's lives.

Located in a valley surrounded by hills within the Kim Hy Nature Reserve, nearly 40 households in Kim Van village, Van Lang commune, are flooded whenever heavy rains last for an extended period. The major floods at the end of 2025 submerged the homes of these residents in water dozens of meters deep for many days, forcing them to evacuate and live in makeshift shelters.

By the end of 2025, the leaders of Thai Nguyen province directed relevant agencies and local authorities to urgently build resettlement areas to stabilize the lives of the people.

The Kim Van village resettlement project, eagerly awaited by the local people, has a total investment of approximately 30.3 billion VND. It is being built in the Lung Cau area, a low-lying hilly area covering about 4 hectares, located approximately 2km from the frequently flooded area, ensuring long-term living conditions and favorable conditions for production and economic development. However, the project's implementation has been very slow, currently stalled at the stage of adjusting and updating the resettlement area plan into the overall planning of the commune and province...

According to the investor's representative, the Project Management Board for Investment in Construction of Transportation and Agriculture Projects in the northern part of Thai Nguyen province, the biggest difficulty for this project is the lengthy procedures for changing the land use purpose of forests and handling assets on forest land, which have not yet been allocated funds. The project is progressing slowly, and with the 2026 rainy season approaching, residents of Kim Van village may face prolonged flooding.

In Thai Nguyen province, many other urgent resettlement projects for disaster-prone areas are progressing very slowly. A typical example is Khuoi Luong village in Ba Be commune, a highland area with 38 Dao ethnic minority households, most of whose houses are located on mountain slopes in unstable geological conditions.

Mr. Ban Van Dat, head of Khuoi Luong village, shared: “Landslides have been occurring for many years, especially during recent heavy rains, directly threatening the lives of villagers. We earnestly hope for a new residential area to move to, ensuring the safety of our lives and property.”

In 2024, Khuoi Luong village was selected for investment in a project to resettle residents in an area facing urgent natural disasters, funded by the central government's contingency budget, according to Decision No. 1660/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister. The project has a total investment of 48.6 billion VND, with the People's Committee of Ba Be District (formerly) as the investor, requiring completion and full disbursement of funds before December 31, 2025.

In fact, by the end of 2025, the project had only disbursed about 29.8 billion VND, failing to meet the set schedule. The entire resettlement area remains in disarray, with almost no technical items completed, while nearly 40 households in Khuoi Luong are eagerly awaiting relocation to the resettlement area to build houses, stabilize their lives, and ensure safety from natural disasters.

The main reason is that in 2025, the area experienced continuous heavy rains, floods, and widespread landslides, directly affecting the construction process, resulting in the damage and loss of many materials and equipment. Some obstacles in planning and allocating resettlement land also hampered project implementation. After the administrative reorganization, the Khuoi Luong disaster-prone area resettlement project was handed over to the Ba Be Commune People's Committee as the investor, but implementation has been very slow.

According to Nguyen Duc Dung, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ba Be Commune, the project's implementation period is set to expire in 2026, but it remains unfinished and has not been fully disbursed. If the implementation period is not extended, according to regulations, the undisbursed funds will have to be returned to the central government budget. This is currently a difficulty for the locality.

In the communes of Chợ Rã, Nam Cường, and Quảng Bạch, three urgent resettlement projects for disaster-prone areas are being implemented, relocating hundreds of households at very high risk of landslides. The total investment for the three projects is approximately 124 billion VND. However, by the end of 2025, only about 75.4 billion VND had been disbursed, and the projects are still incomplete. Furthermore, implementation cannot continue from 2026 onwards due to the expiration of the project's timeframe.

To address this issue, on December 31, 2025, the People's Committee of Thai Nguyen province issued Document No. 7980/UBND-CNN&XD requesting relevant ministries and agencies to report to the Government to allow an extension of the implementation and disbursement period until June 30, 2026, in order to ensure investment efficiency and safety for people in areas affected by natural disasters.

Faced with delays in projects to relocate residents from landslide-prone areas, on April 1st, the Standing Committee of the Thai Nguyen Provincial Party Committee issued Document No. 902-CV/TU directing relevant agencies to urgently conduct a comprehensive review of all projects throughout the province, clarifying the progress, volume of work completed, and disbursement rates to promptly address bottlenecks related to planning, land, investment procedures, and resources. Simultaneously, it proposed adjustments to the implementation schedule and mechanisms (if necessary) to ensure efficient use of central government budget funds, prevent losses and waste; and strengthen inspection and supervision, clarifying the responsibilities of relevant organizations and individuals for projects with delayed progress. Promptly rectify and address existing shortcomings and limitations to accelerate construction and disbursement, ensuring the completion of projects before the 2026 rainy season. In the immediate future, localities should urgently assess the level of danger in landslide-prone areas, proactively implement relocation plans, and arrange temporary housing to ensure minimum living conditions for households in high-risk areas; absolutely no one should be allowed to continue living in unsafe areas.

THE BINH

Source: https://nhandan.vn/bao-dam-an-toan-cho-nguoi-dan-vung-thien-tai-post956541.html