Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà chaired the meeting with ministries and the provinces of Sơn La, Lai Châu and Điện Biên to assess the implementation of the Resettlement and Socio-Economic Development Plan for the Sơn La Hydropower Project on Thursday in Hà Nội.

HÀ NỘI — Improving the living standards of people who gave up their land for the Sơn La Hydropower Project is a top priority, said deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà.

“Although the Party, the National Assembly and the Government have issued various supporting projects, decisions, resolutions and policies, we have yet to fully achieve the goal of comprehensive support, and complete resettlement and socio-economic development in the Sơn La Hydropower resettlement area,” Hà said in the meeting yesterday.

Hà chaired the meeting with ministries and the provinces of Sơn La, Lai Châu and Điện Biên to assess the implementation of the Resettlement and Socio-Economic Development Plan for the Sơn La Hydropower Project (referred to as Plan 666).

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Võ Văn Hưng, the total investment demand for implementing Plan 666 amounts to VNĐ6.9 trillion (US$266.7 million), including VNĐ2.5 trillion ($96.6 million) to support production development; VNĐ2.6 trillion ($100.5 million) to repair and upgrade infrastructure facilities; VNĐ400 billion ($15.5 million) for resettlement and population stabilisation; VNĐ184 billion ($7.1 million) to support trade and tourism development; and VNĐ541 billion ($20.9 million) for new construction, upgrades and repairs of various infrastructure.

However, only VNĐ3.4 trillion ($131.4 million) has been allocated and disbursed from the State Budget to implement 133 out of 528 component projects, including nearly 300km of roads and nearly 100 clean water and irrigation facilities, Hưng said.

Currently, the provinces are implementing 395 projects, including 287 in transport, 69 in clean water supply, 32 in irrigation and seven in other areas, he added.

To date, Plan 666 has not fulfilled its set objectives.

The biggest challenges in implementing Plan 666 include the lack of allocated capital to support production and ensure livelihoods; overlaps and duplication with three national target programmes for the socio-economic development of ethnic minorities and mountainous areas, new-style rural area development and sustainable poverty reduction; and changes in policies regarding investment, infrastructure construction and land clearance compensation.

At the meeting, Chairman of the Sơn La Provincial People’s Committee Nguyễn Đình Việt said that after seven years of implementation, several components of production support, resettlement and population stabilisation in Plan 666 should be reviewed to avoid overlaps with the three national target programmes.

So far, Sơn La has received only VNĐ2 trillion ($77.3 million) out of the VNĐ5.1 trillion ($197.1 million) allocated under Plan 666.

The fund for production support has not yet been allocated for resettled households.

Additionally, 347 out of 12,584 households still need to be relocated due to natural disasters, floods or because they have not yet met conditions for stability and development.

Leaders of Lai Châu and Điện Biên provinces said that, in recent years, localities have integrated several Plan 666 tasks into the three national target programmes using local budgets.

However, there are still areas, particularly in infrastructure and production support, that are not covered by these programmes.

The three provinces of Sơn La, Lai Châu and Điện Biên have therefore proposed that the central Government allocate targeted support funding to complete the remaining components of Plan 666, especially the repair and upgrade of infrastructure to support production development.

Deputy Minister of Finance Đỗ Thành Trung asked localities to review and verify investment items to ensure they align with the intended targets of Plan 666 and to propose central Government funding to complete remaining tasks as quickly as possible, avoiding overlap with the three national target programmes.

Trung also requested the localities to compile statistics on households needing livelihood support to arrange funding from local budgets or propose adding them to the national target programmes on new-style rural areas and socio-economic development for ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

In conclusion, the deputy PM reaffirmed that enhancing the lives of people who gave up their land for the Sơn La Hydropower Project remains a priority.

He pointed out the key reasons for delay in implementing support policies and projects, including insufficient capital allocation, outdated and impractical policies, and implementation difficulties at the local level.

The deputy PM urged the three provinces to urgently review the goals, funding needs, scope and target groups of Plan 666 to prepare projects in line with public investment laws and newly issued regulations.

The Ministry of Finance is tasked with compiling and proposing a central funding structure to support the provinces in completing the plan’s objectives.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs are to review and propose the inclusion of selected tasks from Plan 666 into the two national target programmes on new-style rural areas and socio-economic development for ethnic minority and mountainous areas. VNS