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DAM-L LS: Vietnam: 100,000 to be forced out as dam project floods land (fwd)

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Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 11:18:21 -0700 (PDT)
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Subject: LS: Vietnam: 100,000 to be forced out as dam project floods land
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http://asia.scmp.com/ZZZM2X7XEQC.html

South China Morning Post, Monday, August 20, 2001

VIETNAM
100,000 to be forced out as dam project floods land

MICHAEL MATHES in Hanoi

    A river runs through the remote northwest province of Son La, where lush
valleys peppered with ethnic minority villages nestle between rugged
mountains.

The idyllic Da River slices through the quiet district of Muong La, where
farmers have tilled their rice fields for generations. But the next
generation may not be around to reap rewards from the soil.

Vietnam's largest infrastructure project, the massive Son La hydro-electric
dam, is expected to flood much of Muong La and several other districts in
Son La and neighbouring Lai Chau.

Amid concerns over safety, hand-wringing over money, and fierce debate as to
whether the dam is necessary, as many as 100,000 people, mainly ethnic
minorities, are likely to be displaced over the next few years as their land
is flooded.

A 265-metre-high dam at Son La would generate up to 4,000 megawatts - 80 per
cent of Vietnam's current capacity - and flood 44,700 hectares of land by
the time the turbines start churning a decade from now.

"We're pleased to accommodate," said Lo Ngoc On, the Black Thai ethnic
minority chairman of Muong La, spouting a well-worn party line.

The mood may be different among the local hill tribes, but government
authorities expect a recently approved tranche of US$660 million (HK$5.1
billion) earmarked for resettlement will provide the incentive for local
residents to pull stakes and start a new life elsewhere. "I think they'll
accept whatever reality comes out of this," said Son La provincial chairman
Le Binh Thanh.

Son La is just the largest in a list of future power plans on the drawing
board as this rapidly growing nation struggles to quench its thirst for
energy.

Officials have long felt a huge complex in Son La would go far to solve a
pending energy crisis.

After more than a decade of study, experts came up with three options -
highland, lowland and small-scale - one of which is set to be chosen by the
National Assembly later this year.

But bigger is not better, according to Dr Tran Nhon, president of the
consultancy Vietnam Water Resources Development Association. "Small is
beautiful," he said. "And we oppose all the decisions for high Son La as not
scientific."

Safety is a major worry, as the Da River flows through the earthquake-prone
northwest towards Hanoi, which experts say would be virtually destroyed in
the event of a Son La dam disaster.




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