Trà Sư Sluice in An Giang Province’s Tịnh Biên District has been opened to release floodwater into the Long Xuyên Quadrangle region. – VNA/VNS Photo Công Mạo

AN GIANG – The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of An Giang on Monday opened the Trà Sư Sluice to release floodwater into the Long Xuyên Quadrangle region to bring sediment into fields in the low-lying region.

The Long Xuyên Quadrangle region stretches across An Giang and Kiên Giang provinces and Cần Thơ City.

Lương Huy Khanh, head of the An Giang Irrigation Sub-department, said this year floodwater has occurred later and been at low levels compared to normal years. The release of floodwater this year is about a month later than last year.

The delta’s flood season, which is caused by the rising level of the Mekong River in the rainy season, normally occurs between August and November.

The release of flood water into the Long Xuyên Quadrangle region helps to regulate floodwater flowing from Cambodia into the sea, and prevent floodwater flowing toward the National Highway No. 91 to protect the summer-autumn rice and the winter-spring rice in An Giang and Kiên Giang provinces and Cần Thơ City.

The Trà Sư Sluice is under construction, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

The Trà Sư Sluice and Tha La Sluice, which is under construction in Tịnh Biên District, are the two major flood regulating sluices for the Long Xuyên Quadrangle region.

The 88-metre-wide Trà Sư Sluice has four sluice gates and the 66-metre-wide Tha La Sluice has three sluice gates.

The two sluices, which cost VNĐ232 billion (US$10 million), are replacing the degraded Trà Sư and Tha La rubber dams.

Khanh said the replacing of rubber dams with sluices facilitates the release of floodwater as floodwater can be released at any time and boats can travel through the sluices after the release.

Previously, boats could not travel through the Trà Sư and Tha La rubber dams. – VNS