National interest

Simply put, it is the common good of a community of people living in one country, sharing a common origin, history, customs, and traditions.

In March 1848, in the British House of Commons, British Prime Minister Henry Palmerston delivered a classic speech: "There are no permanent allies, no permanent enemies. Only national interests are permanent, and it is our duty to pursue those interests." Experts believe that it is difficult to absolutize the concept of national interest, but simply put, it is the common interest of the community of people living in a country, sharing a common origin, history, customs, and traditions.

Although Ha Tinh is a small province, it has demonstrated its great efforts to achieve high results in attracting investment, developing industry, building new rural areas, and ensuring social welfare. In particular, since the beginning of the 2020-2025 term, the province has consistently been praised by the Government and the Ministry of Transport for its land clearance work for the North-South expressway project. What accounts for these successes? The answer is simple – it's because the people of Ha Tinh have prioritized national interests over the interests of their villages, communes, districts, and provinces!

The North-South Expressway in the East, passing through Ha Tinh province, has a total length of 107.28 km and is being implemented in 4 component projects over 2 phases: 2017-2020 (Dien Chau - Bai Vot Expressway, the section through Ha Tinh is 4.9 km long) and 2021-2025 (Bai Vot - Ham Nghi, Ham Nghi - Vung Ang, Vung Ang - Bung, 102.38 km long).

The North-South Expressway is a key national project with strategic significance for future socio-economic development. To ensure progress, in addition to effectively carrying out land clearance, it is also necessary to exploit a large amount of common construction materials (soil, sand) to serve the project's construction. Therefore, from August 2023, the Provincial People's Committee approved the exploitation of 11 new mines (8 mines for leveling soil, 3 mines for riverbed sand) to serve the construction of the North-South Expressway through Ha Tinh province. Among these, residents of My Yen village, Cam My commune (Cam Xuyen district) have expressed concerns about the potential impact of sand mines in their area on social infrastructure and people's lives once they are put into operation.

The concerns of the people of My Yen are understandable, but all of them have been promptly addressed by the relevant authorities in Ha Tinh.

The sand mining area in My Yen village, from the red line to the bank of the Ngan Mo River, contributes to "redirecting" the flow of the Ngan Mo River, thereby improving the flood drainage capacity of Ke Go Lake.

Regarding concerns about potential impacts on the base of the Ke Go reservoir dam , in document No. 1804/SNN-TL dated June 30, 2023, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development determined that the sand mining site is located 1.5 km downstream from the Ke Go reservoir spillway, outside the protection corridor of the Doc Mieu - Ke Go reservoir spillway; there are no other irrigation or dike structures in the vicinity of the sand mining site.

Regarding concerns about potential impacts on the base of National Highway 8C , in document No. 1476/SGTVT-KH2 dated June 30, 2023, the Department of Transport determined that the sand mining location is on the right bank of the Ngan Mo River, at a considerable distance from the base of National Highway 8C, and will not affect the road corridor.

Regarding concerns about landslides affecting agricultural land , during the survey process, the specialized agency of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment assessed and agreed on specific measures to prevent landslides, such as mining using a stepped slope method, driving a dense system of bamboo piles 5-6m deep along the mining route, and using gabions and concrete piles for reinforcement at vulnerable points.

At the same time, the document from the Provincial People's Committee also affirmed that if the mining process shows signs of landslides or is unsafe, construction must be stopped until measures to ensure safety are in place and approved by the competent authority, only then can it resume.

Cam Xuyen District proactively organized a press conference to provide information about the plan to exploit sand mines in My Yen village, Cam My commune, to serve the construction of the national key project - the North-South expressway passing through the area.

The relevant departments, along with the provincial and district authorities, acting in the national interest, have provided complete and detailed information, while also engaging in frank dialogue with the people – all with the aim of helping the people understand and share the project, so that they can cooperate with the project owner and construction unit to accelerate progress and quickly connect the expressway through the province.

For the sake of national interest, we urge the people of My Yen to "cast aside their worries" and cooperate in facilitating the construction of this key national project in the area!

Hai Xuan

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/chinh-tri/loi-ich-quoc-gia/257116.htm