The Red River flowing beneath Nhật Tân Bridge in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has approved a proposal to build three regulating dams on the Red, Đuống and Đà rivers, designed to manage seasonal water flows more reliably and strengthen resilience to climate change.

The approval clears the way for further study and design work on the project, which has been put forward by the People's Committee of Hà Nội.

Three dams would be built under the plan, namely the Xuân Quan Dam on the Red River, the Long Tửu Dam on the Đuống and a third structure on either the Đà or Red River.

Officials say the dams would serve several purposes at once: guaranteeing water supplies for farming and household use, improving water quality in irrigation networks and supporting river-based transport and tourism.

They are also expected to help manage water flows from the Red River into the Đuống and work in tandem with upstream reservoirs to hold back saltwater intrusion in the Red River Thái Bình Delta downstream.

The dam planned for the Đà carries a more specific mandate. It is expected to ensure enough water flows through the Lương Phú Sluice Gate to feed the Tích and Đáy Rivers, while supporting power generation, water transport and daily use – all without disrupting the Đà's capacity to drain floodwater.

In approving the concept, the ministry instructed the city government to pursue the project in a way that is economically sound and technically rigorous.

Planners must ensure the dams do not compromise flood discharge capacity or dike safety, do not heighten the risk of landslides or other natural hazards, and do not lower water levels downstream in ways that would hamper nearby irrigation and drainage systems.

They are also instructed to prevent sediment from accumulating upstream of the structures, which could damage the local ecosystem.

For the dam on the Đà in particular, the ministry set an uncompromising red line: the project must not, under any circumstances, affect the minimum downstream water level required by the design specifications of the Hòa Bình Hydropower Plant.

Beyond those safeguards, the ministry called for a full assessment of how the dams would affect river morphology, navigation, fish migration, water quality and sediment transport.

The ministry also instructed that the project conform to Conclusion 467, a document issued in May after discussion between ministry and Hà Nội officials on a separate initiative, the Red River Landscape Boulevard. — VNS