VietNamNet Bridge - An accident at Song Bung 2 hydropower plant has extended the list of hydropower projects that have posed danger. 

"There is nowhere in the world that has seen so many hydropower accidents as in Vietnam,” said Dr Pham Hong Giang, chairman of the Association of Large Dams and Water Resources Development.

Giang, who was Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), noted that hydropower accidents occur every year in Vietnam, causing serious damage.

In June 2011, the pipe that brings water from the dam to Dam Bol Hydropower Plant in Lam Dong province broke out, causing one death, and injuring three while three were reported missing.

In 2012, the Dak Rong 3 hydropower plant’s dam broke out, causing damage worth VND20 billion.

"There is nowhere in the world that has seen so many hydropower accidents as in Vietnam,”   Dr Pham Hong Giang, chairman of the Association of Large Dams and Water Resources Development.

In the same year, the public was stirred up by discovery of many cracks and water leakage from the major dam of the Song Tranh hydropower plant No 2. People paniced as this is one of the areas with high risk of earthquakes. Later, experts attributed this to design errors.

In 2013, the spillway of the 5 MW Ia Krel 2 hydropower plant broke down, threatening the lives of hundreds of households living behind the dam, damaging hundreds of hectares of crops, and 200 hectares of cultivation areas and the rubber Company 72.

In mid-2013, the technical dyke burst at the Vinh Ha hydropower plant in Lao Cai province due to a flood, causing damage worth VND20 billion and seriously upsetting the lives of households in the hydropower area.

In August 2014, the second accident occurred with Ia Krel 2.

In 2016, an accident occurred with Song Bung 2 in Quang Nam province, killing two and sweeping away some houses. 

Hydraulic power plays a very important role in electricity generation in Vietnam. A report shows that hydropower plants provide 30 percent of the nation’s total electricity output.

Giang blamed people, not the plants, for the accidents. 

Under the decentralization policy, local authorities have the right to grant investment licenses to hydropower projects. 

This means that licensing bodies, in many cases, don’t have deep knowledge about the field and therefore cannot anticipate problematic projects.

Meanwhile, investors rush to develop hydropower projects, believing that the business sector would bring high profits, even though they have no knowledge or experience in the field.

“And the sense of responsibility of investors, designers and contractors is weak, which has led to low-quality works and accidents,” he said.

Hong Duong