Historical “breakpoint”
“There is a road connecting Ka Pet Lake through the road to the provincial center”, - the retired man, after going through all the intersections of the former My Thanh commune (now Ham Thanh commune), repeated that sentence over and over again. In his memory, many years ago, there was a road planned to be built for My Thanh people to go to Dong Giang and the Binh Thuan Provincial Party Committee base relic site during the resistance war against the US was the final point. Now, that relic site has been restored and built into a famous origin tourism destination, but at this final point, there is no way to the starting point. So, today, he went to find the starting point… In the feeling of someone who travels a lot, when the routes have appeared related to this area, he was overwhelmed by the discovery of an unexpected connection. If there was the road he was looking for, there would be another route that would go straight from the provincial administrative center to the coastal tourist areas and at the same time open up a tourist route connecting the forest and the sea. Isn't it true that from the provincial center, following National Highway 55 through Provincial Road 714 in Dong Giang Commune, turning into the Binh Thuan Provincial Party Committee Base Relic Site, to Ka Pet Lake, then taking the Phan Thiet - Dau Giay Expressway down to National Highway 1A at km 14 Ham Kiem, before drifting towards the sea, only 10 km away...
He spoke enthusiastically, while we had not yet imagined, when Ka Pet Lake and a road connecting the two sides: Forest and sea had not been built. I asked the commune and related places about that and vaguely realized that this land had "ties" related to the forest. First of all, the road that the retired man said was real, named My Thanh road to Dong Giang, approved by the People's Committee of the old Binh Thuan province for the project investment policy in Decision No. 2984/QD-UBND dated October 29, 2015. The next steps were also to build and outline a 15.3 km long gravel road... In 2018, the investor carried out procedures to change the purpose of forest use. However, at this time, the Ka Pet Reservoir project located nearby was also carrying out investment preparation procedures.
This means that the two projects are being implemented in parallel, so it is necessary to change the purpose of using forests and forest land and arrange a large area of land for reforestation. In that situation, the province decided to prioritize the implementation of the Ka Pet Reservoir project to solve the urgent need for water for the people, which for many reasons has been dragging on for many years. The National Assembly agreed to invest. The procedures went smoothly, and the project was about to start.
However, suddenly, in 2023, a "wave" arose that forests should not be exchanged for irrigation. Despite the fact that thousands of Rac Lay and K'Ho people, due to lack of water for production, have had to live in hunger and have been waiting for rescue for the past 50 years. Despite not knowing anything about the irrigation network plan in arid lands where without a lake, considered a link in the chain, everything will not be successful. Despite never having visited Ham Thanh to know that the dipterocarp forest here in the dry season must shed all its leaves to avoid evaporation, in order to preserve the remaining "strength", waiting for the rain to revive. Yet...
It took 1,808 days for Ka Pet to appear.
At this time, after the showers, which have been scattered since June, the forest trees in Ham Thanh commune have been sprouting green leaves in a hurry. The people of Rac Lay and K'Ho in this area are also bustling to the production area, which has been abandoned for the past 6 months, to plow and wait for more rain to plant corn and cassava. Everyone's face is relaxed, as if breathing a sigh of relief, because they have overcome another drought. This dry season is less stressful. But in April, the irrigation lakes in the plains of the old Ham Thuan Nam district were all stretched to transfer water for production to share. In May, several lakes dried up. There was a local drought. What's more, in this highland area. I followed the road that I had taken last year's dry season. At that time, it was only mid-March when the drought peaked, the Linh River was dry, people lacked water for daily use, and had to provide relief... This is not a new story here.
“The new thing is that after merging 3 communes (My Thanh, Ham Can and Ham Thanh), the commune administrative center is located in Ham Thanh. People are waiting for Ka Pet Lake, only when there is water will this place change”! - Mr. Le Ha Luu, a nearly 70-year-old Rac Lay resident, said. Mr. Luu was a teacher before, then Vice Chairman of the People's Council of My Thanh Commune and held other positions in the Party before retiring, so he has a great passion for changing his hometown. Whenever talking about Ka Pet Lake, he remembers every step in the 20 years of waiting. Therefore, when he heard the news that Ka Pet Lake would start construction in December 2025 and that the My Thanh - Dong Giang road could also be built, he fell silent. The other people here were the same, silently looking at me as if asking: Is it true?
It is not difficult to understand such suspicion, because after the "incident" in 2023, relevant departments and agencies have reviewed and focused on implementing strict steps. After the People's Committee of the old Binh Thuan province approved the investment policy of the Ka Pet lake project in March 2025, at the end of April, the investor reported the expected progress of implementation and disbursement of the Ka Pet lake project with an implementation period of 1,808 days, that is, until June 2028. In 2025, the capital allocated for the Ka Pet lake project was nearly 243 billion VND, of which 30% of the contract value was advanced, and the cost of reforestation...
Therefore, these days, the units participating in reforestation with a total area of 1,845 hectares, 3 times the area of natural forest that must be exploited to build Ka Pet Lake, are rushing to catch up with the procedures and the time of heavy rain. Meanwhile, the My Thanh - Dong Giang road project with the scale of upgrading from 2 to 4 lanes, included in the planning of Binh Thuan province for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, has been approved by the Prime Minister, and is also being adjusted by the investor to suit actual needs. The most difficult thing is the problem of forests and forest land, the reason why the road was not built before, is no longer a concern, because after the merger, Lam Dong has a large forest cover ratio. If approved, the project will be implemented in the 2026-2030 period, connecting and opening a route from the provincial center to the coastal area as the retiree said. At this time, Ka Pet Lake has also been formed, becoming a special link not only in the irrigation network but also in the travel and sightseeing journeys of the people and tourists. I suddenly feel happy when thinking about the Rac Lay and K'Ho people here having an additional job in tourism services...
According to current regulations on construction investment, the Ka Pet Lake project will end on June 5, 2028. There are 119 activities with 8 different specialized groups and fields that must be approved. The most prominent are forestry-related works, with up to 33 activities with a total of 604 days, starting on February 14, 2025, expected to be completed on September 22, 2026. Or the project completion work has a total of 867 days, starting on January 20, 2026, expected to be completed on June 5, 2028... The above plan has been submitted to relevant ministries and the Government will submit it to the National Assembly...
Source: https://baolamdong.vn/ho-ka-pet-mat-xich-dac-biet-382540.html
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