Quang Nam proposes canceling five hydropower projects
The central province of Quang Nam has suggested the Ministry of Industry and Trade to cancel five ineffective hydropower projects reported to be causing negative environmental and social impacts on the province, said an official of the ministry.
Do Duc Quan, deputy director of the ministry’s Department of Energy, told the Daily on Monday that the province had suggested canceling five medium-sized and small hydropower projects in Nam Tra My District after nearly 50 hydropower projects of those sizes had been approved there.
Quan said Quang Nam was the first province to propose canceling ineffective hydropower projects after the ministry instructed the industry and trade departments at 35 provinces and cities last month to check the licensing of medium and small hydropower projects.
“Quang Nam proposes canceling the five approved hydropower projects because they were assessed to be causing bad effects to a nearby forest and farming land and negative environmental impacts for local people,” he said.
Previously, the province had cancelled six other hydropower projects due to negative environmental impacts.
In April this year, the ministry had also proposed the Government eliminate 38 approved hydropower projects in the highland province of Daklak.
Quan said that in 2005 the industry ministry had made a master plan for building 300 medium-sized and small hydropower projects nationwide. However, to date, the total number of approved medium and small hydropower projects has nearly tripled to 880, with a total designed capacity of 5,900 MW.
The projects are mostly scattered in the Central Highlands and the central and the northern provinces. Lao Cai has the most small and medium projects, at 110.
“Like other provinces and cities, the northern province of Lao Cai is also carrying out overall checks with a view to canceling ineffective medium and small hydropower projects” he said.
A lot of forest areas near the hydropower plants under construction has been illegally destroyed without reforestation due to weak management by the provincial governments and the developer. Some developers deliberately disobey regulations protecting the environment during construction of power plants and water reservoirs.
According to some experts, if well managed, medium and small hydropower projects with a maximum capacity of 30MW can contribute positively to economic development of provinces as well as creating more power for the national grid.