Urgent action needed to address the downstream flood drainage system of the Ha Thanh River.

Given the current situation where the downstream flood drainage corridor of the Ha Thanh River does not meet the requirements for disaster prevention and control, the Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee has requested relevant agencies to urgently address the issue.

Urgent task

The historic floods that occurred from the end of 2025 caused widespread flooding in Gia Lai province, resulting in damages of up to 1,500 billion VND, including hundreds of hectares of crops destroyed, agricultural land covered with silt, and seriously affecting the livelihoods of the people.

Even the Quy Nhon Bac and Quy Nhon Dong wards, where the Dinh River flood drainage system (downstream of the Ha Thanh River) was built with an investment of 316.5 billion VND, are no exception.

Therefore, to ensure the safety of people's lives and property, as well as public infrastructure in the area before this year's rainy season, the Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee issued document No. 6527/UBND-NNMT dated May 22, 2026, on focusing on directing and decisively accelerating the implementation of urgent flood drainage solutions downstream of the Ha Thanh River in 2026.

The Department of Agriculture and Environment is tasked with coordinating with relevant departments, agencies, and localities to closely inspect and monitor the progress of implementation.

Vice Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee Duong Mah Tiep (far right) and Mr. Vu Ngoc An, Deputy Director of Gia Lai Department of Agriculture and Environment (far left), inspect the dredging site from downstream of the railway bridge to downstream of Lac Truong dam (Quy Nhon Bac ward). Photo: NM

Accordingly, the Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee requested relevant departments, agencies, and localities to urgently rectify and expedite the implementation of emergency measures to strengthen flood drainage downstream of the Ha Thanh River.

This includes focusing on reviewing, counting, handling, and clearing violations within the dike protection corridor and flood drainage corridor that do not meet the requirements for disaster prevention and control before this year's rainy season.

The Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee also requested the People's Committees of Quy Nhon Bac and Quy Nhon Dong wards and Tuy Phuoc commune to urgently review and fully count all households, structures, buildings, and other existing issues within the protection corridor of the Cat River dike, Truong Uc River dike, and related flood drainage routes.

Local authorities are required to specifically classify violations based on location, time of occurrence, nature of violation, and the extent of impact on flood flow and drainage in order to propose appropriate solutions.

Based on the review results, promptly mobilize efforts to resolve and relocate cases of violations affecting the dike protection and flood drainage corridor. Those who do not comply will be dealt with according to regulations.

"This is an urgent political task, directly related to the safety of people's lives and property; the secretaries and chairmen of the People's Committees of the relevant communes and wards must be held accountable to the Provincial People's Committee if there is a delay, a lack of decisiveness, or if new violations or re-encroachment occur after handling," emphasized Vice Chairman of the Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee Duong Mah Tiep.

The Dinh River flood drainage system is responsible for draining floodwaters from the Dinh River area, which flows through Quy Nhon Bac and Quy Nhon Dong wards. Photo: DN

Priority Project

According to Mr. Ngo Vinh Khanh, Head of the Irrigation Department of Gia Lai province, following the direction of the Provincial People's Committee, in recent days, the Provincial Agricultural and Rural Development Project Management Board (abbreviated as Project Management Board), the investor, has worked with the People's Committees of Tuy Phuoc commune, Quy Nhon Bac ward and Quy Nhon Dong ward on the locations requiring dredging and compensation and resettlement support in 2026.

“On May 26th, the Project Management Board submitted the investment plan to the Gia Lai Department of Finance for appraisal. On May 28th, the Department of Finance issued a report appraising the funding sources and the ability to balance capital for 2026,” Mr. Khanh said.

According to Mr. Khanh, the Project Management Board, in coordination with the Quy Nhon Bac Ward People's Committee, inspected the site, reviewed the project's scope, and finalized the design plan to prepare an investment proposal for approval in accordance with regulations.

The end point of the Dinh River flood drainage system is at the Quy Nhon 1 spillway, former Nhon Binh ward (now Quy Nhon Dong ward, Gia Lai). Photo: V.D.T.

The Project Management Board has also signed a contract with a consulting firm to prepare a report proposing the investment policy. The contract duration is 60 days (from May 12, 2026 to July 11, 2026). Currently, the consulting firm has completed the topographic survey and is preparing the report proposing the investment policy.

"To date, localities have not specifically reviewed cases of serious violations, auxiliary structures, farms, fish ponds, warehouses, and other buildings that obstruct water flow, directly affecting flood drainage, and the necessary funds for relocation and resettlement," Mr. Khanh added.

In response to this situation, the Gia Lai Department of Agriculture and Environment has requested local authorities to urgently establish councils and working groups to implement compensation, support, and resettlement.

The Project Management Board is urgently reviewing and classifying the downstream flood drainage projects of the Ha Thanh River according to their urgency, site conditions, and feasibility of implementation in 2026, in order to promptly hand over the land to the People's Committees of Tuy Phuoc commune, Quy Nhon Bac ward, and Quy Nhon Dong ward to carry out compensation and land clearance work.

Floodwaters entered homes in Quy Nhon Bac ward (Gia Lai province) during the floods that occurred in November 2025. Photo: V.D.T.

The Provincial People's Committee directed local authorities to urgently develop plans for handling the issue, with specific implementation phases.

Phase 1 focuses on immediately addressing serious violations, including structures and buildings obstructing water flow and directly affecting flood drainage, and completing the handling, clearance, and handover of the land to the Project Management Board before June 30, 2026, for dredging and channel clearing; Phase 2 will definitively resolve the remaining cases after completing legal documents, compensation plans, support, and resettlement according to regulations, requiring completion before the 2026 rainy season.

The dredging and clearing work is being studied and implemented in a fundamental and long-term manner, limiting the need for repeated treatment on the same section or route every year.

"To expedite the completion of legal procedures as required, the Gia Lai Department of Agriculture and Environment requests that relevant departments and agencies coordinate closely and prioritize accelerating the appraisal and approval process faster than typical public investment projects," said Mr. Cao Thanh Thuong, Director of the Gia Lai Department of Agriculture and Environment.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/khan-cap-xu-ly-he-thong-tieu-thoat-lu-ha-du-song-ha-thanh-d813936.html