Bình Thuận Province's People's Committee has organised a field trip for experts, environmentalists and officials to the location of the Ka Pét Reservoir construction project in southern Bình Thuận Province. VNA/VNS Photo

BÌNH THUẬN — The Government has submitted a report to the National Assembly on the progress of the Ka Pét Reservoir project in southern Bình Thuận Province, in which the reforestation plan will be accelerated by one year compared to the initial plan.

This project has recently garnered significant public attention. The Ka Pét Reservoir project was approved for investment in Resolution No. 93 issued on 26 November 2019, and the investment plan was adjusted in Resolution No. 101 last June.

The Ka Pét Reservoir, with a designed capacity of over 51 million cubic metres, aims to provide irrigation water for agricultural production, supply raw water for industrial zones and the daily needs of residents, flood control, environmental improvement, and water regulation for the low areas of Hàm Thuận Nam District and the whole province as well.

As planned, the project will cover a total of over 697 hectares, including over 679 hectares of forest land and 18 hectares of agricultural land. The required total reforestation area will be 1,844 hectares.

The total investment amount is expected to reach more than VNĐ874 trillion (US$35.7 billion), with a Government budget of VNĐ519.9 trillion ($21.2 billion) and a local budget of VNĐ354.1 trillion ($14.4 billion). The project will be implemented from 2019 to 2025.

In the report signed by Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Chí Dũng on behalf of the Prime Minister, the inventory and assessment of the current forest status had been completed and approved by relevant departments and agencies in Bình Thuận Province.

Regarding the reforestation plan, the People's Committee of Bình Thuận Province instructed the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to review the entire 1,844 hectares of reforestation required for the project and ensure native species such as black star trees and star oil plants are planted in the reforestation area.

The report stated that currently, forest management units in the province were conducting surveys and reviewing forest land that meets the reforestation criteria to submit to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for approval as the basis for implementing reforestation.

This was to ensure completion in sync with the Ka Pét Reservoir project by the end of 2025, it stated.

The reforestation plan was ahead of the previous plan presented to the National Assembly. The initial plan was divided into three phases and was planned to be completed in 2026. The total investment for reforestation in the project was expected to be over VNĐ176.8 billion ($7.2 million).

Regarding the environmental impact assessment report, Minister Dũng stated that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment had not yet received the environmental impact assessment report for the project. The ministry would carefully review and evaluate the measures to mitigate adverse environmental impacts during the review and approval of the project's environmental impact assessment report.

According to the report from the People's Committee of Bình Thuận Province, the consulting unit responsible for the environmental impact assessment report currently lacks the capacity to implement the dam break response model and assess the project's biodiversity as required by regulations.

Therefore, the project’s management board for agriculture and rural development infrastructure in Bình Thuận Province has worked with the contractor to reach a consensus on terminating the contract. Based on this, it will seek the authority's approval to select a capable contractor to complete the environmental impact assessment report for the Ka Pét Reservoir project.

Dũng also said that the provincial People’s Committee had submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development the project’s feasibility study report and was finalising the report as per the ministry’s requirements.

The report also highlighted two challenges the Ka Pét Reservoir project is currently facing.

Bình Thuận Province completed the environmental impact assessment report in September 2020. However, due to the project's adjustment in investment direction presented to the National Assembly in June of this year, a new environmental impact assessment report must be prepared.

This report must include additional documentation on the dam break response model and biodiversity assessment. This process would affect the timeline for approving the environmental impact assessment report and the decision-making process for investing in the project, he said.

Another challenge came from conflicting information regarding the use of hundreds of hectares of forest for the water reservoir. On September 6, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development held a meeting to address issues on the reservoir and organised a field trip for experts, environmentalists, and officials to the location of the Ka Pét Water Reservoir project. — VNS