Vietnam - Resettlement shocks communities

"In a resettlement village, we have no field, no new job. Life is very difficult here"

Construction of two large-scale hydro-power projects in northern mountainous Lai Chau province will mean more power to satisfy Vietnam’s growing electricity demand. But thousands of people driven from their homes by the projects are facing a gloomy future.

Every day, Lo Van Hoa and his wife ride their motorbike seven kilometres along a rough mountainous road to cultivate their rice field. The field has been providing a living for six people in Hoa’s family since his father left it to him in the 1970s. “Without this field, we don’t know what we would do for a living,” said Hoa.

But, time is running out for Hoa. He and his family have already left the house near this field where they used to live – they are now living in a resettlement area – and his land will be next to go. Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) is building two large-scale hydroelectricity projects in Lai Chau province’s Than Uyen district - the 220 megawatt Ban Chat and 550MW Huoi Quang projects. The land where Hoa’s field is now located, will be a huge reservoir supplying water to these two power projects. In either November or December, EVN plans to let the water flow into this area which means Hoa will no longer be able to cultivate rice here.

Although Hoa has been compensated by EVN for his land and house, he said his future was gloomy because he did not know how he would support his family in the resettlement area.

“In a resettlement village, we have no field, no new job. Life is very difficult here,” he said.

In Muong Mit commune, home to the future water reservoir, more than 3,000 households have been resettled since 2007 when the government decided to build those two power projects. Most of them are of the Thai ethnic minority group.

Each household received compensation ranging from $10,000 to $15,000 from EVN for cultivated land and houses but residents said this was only enough for them to build new houses.

Every household was granted around 300 square metres for building homes in the resettlement areas. Many children have to study at home because of the lack of classrooms. In the evening, residents light their houses with candles and oil lamps because there is no electricity yet in the resettlement areas.

Water is also a big concern for  residents here. Most resettlement villages are located on mountain slopes and villagers said they were facing severe shortages of fresh water, both for cultivation and daily living. Last year, EVN built two small water supply plants at Huoi Hoi and Huoi Lo in Muong Mit commune to supply fresh water to residents. But these have been out of order since water pipes at the plants broke about ten months after they came online.

“The construction quality is very poor. When it [EVN] built those water projects we asked if we could supervise [building] but local officials said no,” said Lo Van Sy, a resident of the commune.

To ensure sufficient supply of fresh water, residents in Muong Mit had to spend money on building water pipeline systems to collect water from mountain creeks. However, this didn’t meet all the needs of residents. The shortage of water had even led some disputes among  residents with Sy saying that he had mediated between villagers on water matters twice.

“Disputes usually come when some people say they need water for domestic use but others want to use water for cultivation,” said Sy. He also complained the condition of the roads linking the resettlement villages to the district centre had seriously deteriorated since they started being used last year. But water and roads are not the chief worry of settlers. Like Hoa, many people are worried about their futures once they no longer have fields to cultivate. “We want to have fields.

We are farmers, [and] without fields we cannot survive,” said Hua Van Dau, a father of three children.  Currently, settlers are living on compensation money, but Sy said this could not last much longer. He said since he came to resettlement villages, he had already spent half of the $13,500 he received in compensation. He spent the money building a house and contributing to build water pipelines. The rest had gone on living expenses for him and his family. Last year, Muong Mit People’s Committee promised it would hand over land to settlers for cultivation. But, the local authority has yet to make good on its promises.

Meanwhile, Toong Van Tam, chairman of Muong Mit People’s Council, said local residents had supported government policy by giving up their fields and homes for power generation projects.

In return, he said, residents would like more support from EVN and state authorities. Lung Van Lim, vice chairman of Than Uyen People’s Committee, agreed that EVN had not implemented its commitment well. He cited the poor quality of new roads and water supply facilities as an evidence of the investor’s bad behaviour. “It is unacceptable that the residents had to contribute money to build water pipes. This is the responsibility of EVN,” Lim said, adding that the local people’s committee would urge EVN to repair the water plants.

Lim promised the local authorities would hand over cultivated land to settlers as soon as possible. Furthermore, he added the authority had also thought about helping them develop fisheries in the reservoirs attached to the Ban Chat and Huoi Quang power projects.

Giang Pao My, chairman of Lai Chau People’s Council and a  National Assembly deputy, said many communes within Lai Chau province faced similar hardships.

“There are many large-scale hydroelectricity projects in Lai Chau such as the Son La and Lai Chau plants. Certainly, residents in these areas are facing lots of difficulties,” she said.

She added the measures should be urgently implemented to help residents get their lives back on track.

“They have sacrificed stability for the power security of the country, so now they deserve strong support,” My said.

Ngoc Linh | vir.com.vn

Business & Investment Opportunities

YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.