An irrigation canal in Ninh Thuận Province’s Ninh Phước District has been repaired and is ready to receive water to supply farmlands. — VNA/VNS Photo

NINH THUẬN — The south-central province of Ninh Thuận is busy dredging and repairing irrigation canals to supply water for the summer-autumn crops.

Phùng Đình Thanh, deputy director of the province-based Irrigation Work Exploitation and Management One Member Ltd. Co., said his company is spending nearly VNĐ18.5 billion (US$790,000) to upgrade 26 irrigation works in Ninh Hải, Ninh Phước, Ninh Sơn, Thuận Nam, Thuận Bắc and Bác Ái districts and Phan Rang – Tháp Chàm City.

It is also dredging 15 irrigation canals, he said.  

The work is expected to be finished by May 20, he added.

But some large irrigation sources such as the Pha and Lâm Cấn- Nha Trinh rivers and the Bắc and Nam canals have been dredged already.

The company manages 22 reservoirs with a total designed capacity of 414 million cubic metres.

There have been rains in recent days with the dams getting significant volumes of inflows, according to the company.

They contained 240.4 million cubic metres of water on May 15, it said.

The country’s driest province is set to grow 15,290ha of rice and 31,050ha of vegetables this summer-autumn, according to its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. 

The department has instructed the company to complete the repairs soon and ensure timely supply of water.

Besides irrigation, the province is also expected to need around 10.89 million cubic metres of water for household use, 2.12 million cubic metres for livestock and 2.51 million cubic metres for commercial use, according to the company. — VNS