Ministry seeks funding to upgrade, protect coastal dykes

Source: Vietnam News (13 February 2006)

Ha Noi – The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is seeking funding from the State budget in the amount of VND 10 trillion (US$ 629 million) for a plan to protect and upgrade the nation’s coastal dike system in coastal provinces from Quang Ninh to Quang Nam. The amount sought includes VND 280 billion from this year’s operating budget for the nation’s coastal dike systems.

The Department of Dike Management and Flood and Storm Control, under the MARD has put forward a programme to upgrade the dikes between now and 2010.

The programme was devised pursuant to a Government directive which also instructed the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to make needed State funds available for the five year project.

The People’s Committee of 13 provinces and cities that have coastal dikes were also instructed to develop plans to bring dike systems in their areas up to standard. Dikes in northern coastal areas must be able to cope with winds of 89-102 km per hour and sea level changes of 5%. Dikes must be built to withstand waves that may crash over them during stronger storms. The Department’s strategy to upgrade the nation’s dikes contains five elements. First, to strengthen the main coastal dikes, the tops and seaside faces of dikes will be paved with concrete. Grass will be planted on the leeward side of the dikes.

Second, a standby dike system will be built behind the coastal dikes. Between the two dikes, small dams will be built to create pools to collect flood waters. Third, drainage systems will be improved. Fourth, mangrove forests will be planted as breakwaters in some alluvial plains.

Finally, development of aquaculture, salt industry and tourism will be required to conform to safety regulations. Local People’s Committees will be required to ensure that these activities do not interfere with the effectiveness of coastal dikes.

Weathering storms

Many storms directly hit the nation’s coasts each year, and last year’s weather severely damaged coastal dike systems in the northern provinces. Coastal dikes and dikes in estuaries from Quang Ninh to Quang Nam extend for a length of 1,400km, but only about 700 km of them have been upgraded already.

Dike systems traversing the provinces and cities of Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, and Ninh Binh and extending for about 740 km have been earmarked for upgrade.

The dikes protect people, property and production in the Red River Delta, a populous, lowland region and a key economic region of the country. Tides in this coastal region can cause sea level to rise 4m, and the area is frequently hit with severe storms.

Dikes along the coasts and tidal estuaries are ageing and weakened, and most are too small and low to work effectively. A few of the most important dikes have been upgraded to cope with winds of 75-88km per hour and sea level changes of 5%.

But many other dikes, which are managed by local authorities, can only resist weaker winds and lower sea levels. Many of these, under the repeated impacts of rains, storms and waves, have become severely degraded.

Upgrading the dike in Nam Dinh province, at 91.5km long, presents the greatest challenges, and the dike system in the province is the region’s most important, protecting 1.2 million people living in low-lying areas and 120,000 ha of farmland.

Do Van Khanh, head of the provincial Office for Dike Management and Flood and Storm Control, said the province needs some VND 250 billion to upgrade 30km of coastal dikes to resist winds of 89-102km per hour.

The deputy director of Quang Ninh Province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Tran Van Lang, said the province has 440km of coastal dikes, of which only 33.6km is managed by the Government and receives State budget for upgrading. More than 400 km is managed by the local government. In the past, the province has invested about VND 20 billion per year in dike maintenance and upgrade, but the dikes are built only to resist winds of less than 75km per hour and low tides.

The province has a plan to upgrade 30 coastal dike systems during 2006-2010 at a length of 160km. The State budget will fund VND 650 billion of the VND 800 billion cost, and the provincial budget will cover the remaining VND 150 billion.

The northern port city of Hai Phong has many estuaries, so the city often suffers the impacts of floods, storms and high tides. The coastal dikes receive regular maintenance funded by the State budget and city authorities, but experts warn the system is inadequate to resist the most severe storms. The city, therefore, has a plan to upgrade local dikes during 2006-2010 with total capital of VND 1.1 trillion, of which the State budget will contribute VND 850 billion. - VNS