Light source in the Truong Son mountain range

Thanks to that, after more than 20 years since its presence in the western mountainous region of Quang Nam province (old) and now Da Nang city, in addition to the task of contributing to the country's shortage of output, the projects on the upper Vu Gia-Thu Bon river have contributed to significantly changing the lives of thousands of ethnic minorities in the Truong Son mountain range.

View of Song Tranh 2 hydroelectric dam from above.

“The new place must be better than the old place”

With a young industry, having to rely on foreign consultants, but since Decision 797/CP-CN dated June 17, 2003 on electricity projects starting in 2003-2004 and Decision No. 400/CP-CN dated March 26, 2004 on implementing the mechanism for hydropower projects of the Prime Minister , the bottlenecks in the process of building hydropower plants in the country in general, Quang Nam province in particular, have been resolved.

These two decisions allowed investors to designate and select contractors with construction capacity; reduce the savings rate due to designation of contractors in the total estimate, etc. These were two new breakthrough mechanisms in management in the implementation of hydropower plant construction at that time.

A Vuong Hydropower Plant is the largest hydropower project in Quang Nam province approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 317/QD-TTg dated March 21, 2003. The project is built on the A Vuong River, a major tributary of the Bung River on the Thu Bon River system in Dang Commune, Tay Giang District and Ma Cooih Commune, Dong Giang District, Quang Nam Province (old), now Tay Giang Commune and Ben Hien Commune, Da Nang City.

The A Vuong Hydropower Project with a designed capacity of 210 MW officially started construction on August 31, 2003. On July 10, 2010, the project was inaugurated. To build the A Vuong Hydropower Project, 330 households with 1,572 people were forced to relocate, of which 34 households with 99 people relocated themselves, and the remaining 296 households with 1,473 people.

The villages of Ma Cooih commune of Dong Giang district and Dang commune of Tay Giang district, Quang Nam province, now Ben Hien commune and Tay Giang commune of Da Nang city before being relocated. (Photo taken in 2003)

Recalling the early days of mobilizing people to give up land and relocate for the A Vuong hydropower project, Mr. Nguyen Bang, former Chairman of the People's Committee of Hien district, Quang Nam province from 1996 to 2003, former Secretary of the Dong Giang District Party Committee, Quang Nam province from 2003 to 2016, shared that all the people of the five villages of Ma Cooih commune were completely located within the hydropower reservoir. People's lives were extremely deprived with many "nothings".

Because there are no roads, schools, medical stations, no electricity, no clean water, poverty persists. Food shortages and diseases are therefore constant. If someone in the village is sick, the young ones are carried through the forest and through streams by the villagers, but it takes more than a day to get to the district center, while the elderly are left in the village. Temporary houses are built on steep slopes, with the constant fear of landslides and flash floods.

The role of the people is the decisive factor because in difficult times, people have sacrificed, contributed, and accompanied each other to build hydroelectric power plants, contributing to solving the country's electricity shortage. In addition, the role of the State is the key factor because it has implemented the right policies as committed to the people.
Mr. Nguyen Bang, former Chairman of the People's Committee of Hien district, Quang Nam province from 1996 to 2003, former Secretary of the Dong Giang District Party Committee, Quang Nam province from 2003 to 2016.

When the investment policy for the construction of the A Vuong hydropower project was announced, Dong Giang district identified this as an opportunity to re-arrange the population. Because the entire population of Ma Cooih commune is located on the slope of the A Vuong river with a steep slope, it is impossible to invest in building roads.

As important as damming the river is, choosing a place to resettle the people is even more important. Dong Giang district authorities have offered many locations for people to choose from. Houses are built according to the traditional houses of the Co Tu people and must follow the principle that "the new place must be better than the old place". After choosing a location, the houses of hundreds of households were dismantled and transported by soldiers and militia. When they were relocated to a new place, the names of the villages remained unchanged and all had to follow the cultural traditions of the Co Tu people.

“The role of the people is the decisive factor because in difficult times, people have sacrificed, contributed, and accompanied each other to build hydropower plants, contributing to solving the country's electricity shortage. In addition, the role of the State is a key factor because it has implemented the right policies as committed to the people. Looking back after more than 20 years of A Vuong hydropower plant being formed on the mountainous land west of Da Nang city, I feel very happy and satisfied,” said Mr. Nguyen Bang.

People's houses are solidly built with concrete in the traditional stilt house style of the Co Tu people in the Pachepalanh resettlement area.

Arriving at the resettlement area of Pachepalanh, Cutchrun of five villages in Ben Hien commune, Da Nang city after more than 20 years of relocation to new residences, the lives of hundreds of households have changed significantly. Under the compensation and support work, all the previous wooden houses with thatched roofs have been built with solid reinforced concrete houses following the traditional house structure of the Co Tu people. Electricity systems, roads, schools, medical stations, clean water, etc. have been invested in and built spaciously. In particular, each village has built a Guol house, a traditional cultural house of the Co Tu people so that people have a place for community activities.

Mr. A Lang Bang, former Chairman of the People's Committee of Ma Cooih Commune, Dong Giang District, Quang Nam Province from 2004 to 2008, said that most of the fertile land of Ma Cooih Commune is located in the A Vuong Lake area. When moving to the new place, everything was good, but the people had to reclaim the land for production from the beginning.

Due to the fact that there were many difficulties when they first moved to their new place, the locality petitioned the higher authorities and received support from Vietnam Electricity Group and A Vuong Hydropower Joint Stock Company for three consecutive years of rice at the rate of 10kg/person/month. In addition, A Vuong Hydropower Joint Stock Company also supported the people in the two resettlement areas of Pachepalanh and Cutchrun in Dong Giang district with 11.5 billion VND; and the Alua and Kla resettlement areas of Tay Giang district with 12.5 billion VND to renovate and expand the development of production land. After the daily "food" problem was resolved, the people started to reclaim wasteland for farming under the guidance and supervision of the district and commune.

“Thanks to the Party and State’s policy of investing in hydropower construction, people’s lives are changing every day. From always being worried and insecure every time it rains, people are now settled in solid houses and have a civilized life with full amenities. Everyone is very happy about their new home!”, said Mr. Alang Bang.

Thanks to the Party and State's policy of investing in hydropower construction, people's lives are changing every day. From always being worried and insecure every time it rains, people are now settled in solid houses and civilized, fully-equipped lives. Everyone is very happy about their new home!
Mr. A Lang Bang, former Chairman of the People's Committee of Ma Cooih commune, Dong Giang district, Quang Nam province, 2004-2008 period

Significant change in the appearance of the mountains

Quang Nam province (old) has 40 hydropower projects with a total designed capacity of over 1,775MW, and an average annual power output of over 6,296 million kWh. Currently, 29 plants have been put into operation; 6 projects are under construction; 5 projects are carrying out investment procedures to start construction. In addition, there are 9 hydropower projects that require resettlement, including: A Vuong, Dak Mi 4, Song Tranh 2, Song Con 2, Song Bung 4, Dak Mi 4C, Tr'Hy, Song Tranh 4, A Vuong 3.

According to the Department of Finance and the Department of Industry and Trade of Da Nang City, in recent years, hydropower plants in the upper reaches of the Vu Gia-Thu Bon River have made significant contributions to the socio-economic development, the daily needs of people in Quang Nam and provided a large source of energy for the national power system. The total commercial electricity output has also increased annually. Specifically, in 2020 it was more than 3,249 million kWh, and by 2025 it is estimated to reach about 5,884 million kWh.

Along with that, revenue from hydropower also increased every year, specifically, in the period from 2020 to 2025, it increased from 669 billion VND to 1,322 billion VND. In particular, with the high determination of local authorities and the efforts of the electricity sector, up to now, 100% of communes, wards and towns in 17 districts, towns and cities in Quang Nam province (before the merger) have electricity, reaching a rate of 99.4%.

The appearance of the school and roads in Ben Hien commune, Da Nang city was invested in and improved when moving to a new place.

Hydropower plants in the upper reaches of the Vu Gia-Thu Bon River have made significant contributions to the socio-economic development, the daily needs of people in Quang Nam and provided a large source of energy for the national power system. Along with that, revenue from hydropower has also increased every year, specifically, in the period from 2020 to 2025, it is estimated to increase from 669 billion VND to 1,322 billion VND.

When hydropower plants in Quang Nam were formed, they brought about a convenient transportation system in the mountainous region, shortening travel time between the plains and the mountains. Moreover, in the summer, hydropower plants also support water supply for agricultural production, preventing salinity. The rainy season supports cutting and reducing sudden floods in the downstream. In particular, along with policies for developing ethnic minority areas such as 30A, 30B, national target programs... the development of sustainable livelihoods for people in the hydropower reservoir area is focused on by the locality and reservoir owners.

Deputy General Director of A Vuong Hydropower Joint Stock Company, Power Generation Corporation 2 Ngo Xuan The shared: “At the beginning of construction, A Vuong Hydropower Project, like many other hydropower projects, encountered many difficulties. Up to now, after more than 20 years of construction and operation, in addition to mastering the processes, operation and maintenance work, the technical staff, the unit has also contributed more than 2,300 billion VND to the budget. In particular, with the forest environmental service policy, from 20 VND/electricity letter in 2011, it has now increased to 36 VND/letter, contributing significantly to the development of livelihoods and participation in forest conservation and protection of the people".

Releasing fish into Song Tranh 2 hydroelectric reservoir to regenerate aquatic resources.

With the motto of "giving fishing rods" to develop the economy sustainably for ethnic minorities, the owners and management units of hydropower plants in the area have coordinated with local authorities to organize many practical and specific activities to help people in the basins of hydropower plants overcome difficulties and stabilize their lives, such as: Model of supporting food and seedlings for forest planting to replace slash-and-burn cultivation at Nuoc Bieu Hydropower Plant; releasing fish fry, raising fish in cages on the reservoirs of Song Tranh 2, Song Bung 2, Song Bung 4 hydropower plants; model of growing bamboo for bamboo shoots at A Vuong Hydropower Plant...

In particular, according to Decision No. 2148/QD-UBND dated October 10, 2023 of the People's Committee of Quang Nam province promulgating the livelihood program for people in the basin of hydroelectric reservoirs in the area until 2025, all localities with hydroelectric reservoirs have sustainable livelihood models for people to mobilize all resources to support and create conditions for the development of people's livelihoods in the basin of hydroelectric reservoirs, contributing to the good implementation of national target programs and Government programs deployed in the area. At the same time, combining diverse types and models of economic development, calling for investment to create momentum for socio-economic development in mountainous areas, creating jobs, ensuring long-term livelihoods for local people.