by Vu Kim Chung
Localities in the Red River Delta, the Midland and the Northern Centre of Vietnam will invest VND 16,000 billion (USD 1.14 billion) to upgrade almost 53,500 km of canals and ditches in the next five years, ensuring water for about 1.5 million ha. The target was set at a Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) conference on upgrading and strengthening management of irrigation networks held in the central province of Nghe An on June 14 and 15, 1999.
The conference, chaired by the MARD Minister Le Huy Ngo, drew representatives of the People's Committees, agricultural, water conservancy and irrigation management services from 16 provinces and cities and central agencies concerned. This will create many opportunities for both domestic as well as internation water resources engineering and management consultants over the next five years and the MARD will soon begin to solicit this expertise.
The region's natural acreage accounts for 24 percent of the country's total, including 2.8 million ha of agricultural land. It has 159 big and small irrigation systems, more than 2,000 large and small lakes and dams, and 3,670 pumping stations. These irrigation networks can provide water for almost 1.8 million ha of rice, 405,500 ha of vegetables and industrial crops. But irrigation networks have fallen into disrepair and are running at only 68 percent capacity. In the Red River Delta alone, only 40 percent of acreage has an active water supply.
The MARD has launched a movement to encourage inhabitants to gradually rehabilitate, upgrade and strengthen management of irrigation systems, particularly to upgrade irrigation canals and ditches. Such upgrading has been implemented in Ha Noi, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tay, Hai Phong and Thai Binh provinces. It helped these localities save 30-50 percent of watering time, reduce labour for water conservation between 30 and 60 percent. As a result, the amount of irrigated land, intensive farming and planting capacity increased.