Dam leakage being repaired

Leaks at Song Tranh 2 Power Plant's dam will be fixed by the end of this month. File Photo

QUANG NAM – Water leakage at the main dam at Song Tranh 2 hydro-power plant will be fully repaired by the end of this month before the flood season starts.

Nguyen Van Lan, the plant's deputy director, said 80 per cent of the work had already been completed at the dam in central Quang Nam province's Bac Tra Mi District.

This had led to a 98 per cent reduction in the leakage from the 96 metre-high, 650m-long dam.

Water was flowing out through thermal gaps, small openings left between concrete blocks to prevent cracking in the heat.

The gaps must be fixed before they get larger under high water pressure during the rainy season or during earthquakes.

According to the management board, 10 of the 30 thermal gaps leaking water are large.

These have been repaired by China's Zhejiang Huadong Engineering Science and Development Company. The remainder have been fixed by Hydraulic Work Construction Corporation 4, the dam's builder.

The State Department for Construction Quality Assessment is appraising the materials used to build the dam.

It will release an initial report by the end of this month.

The 96m-high dam can hold 729 million cubic metres of water, equivalent to 43 West Lakes.

Though the dam is still under construction, its power plant generated more than 380 million kWh in the first seven months of the year, equal to 67 per cent of its yearly target.

During the dry season from January to July, the dam, the largest of its kind in central Viet Nam, provides water for agriculture in Hoi An township and the districts of Dien Ban, Duy Xuyen, Dai Loc and Nong Son in Quang Nam Province.

The dam came into operation in January last year, but the leakage detected in March caused public concern. – VNS