A new proposal to construct a hydropower plant in the Central Highlands is facing opposition from Gia Lai authorities, who fear it may exacerbate the environmental damage caused by existing hydropower plants.
The proposed plant, Vinh Son 2, will cut straight through Gia Lai’s Kon Chu Rang Nature Reserve, home to a wide variety of endangered species and at least one other hydropower plant proposal this year. Vinh Son-Song Hinh Hydropower JSC has estimated the 80-megawatt plant would cost approximately VND1 trillion (US$45 million), reports Thanh Nien.
“The Vinh Son 2 hydropower plant will cause huge damages to the Ba River’s lowland,” Kpah Thuyen, deputy chairman of the Gia Lai People’s Committee, told the news outlet.
Stories of hydropower plants and dams causing irreparable damage to the environment – not to mention the livelihoods of local residents – are not unheard of in Vietnam. Both flooding and drought can occur as a result of these construction projects, according to VietnamNet.
Local officials are vehemently against Vinh Son 2 because they have learned a lesson from the existing An Khe-Kanak Hydropower Plant, a longstanding presence in the region which has done more harm than good, causing massive flooding in 2011, reports Tuoi Tre.
The construction proposal was submitted amid growing pressure on the national electricity grid due to rapid industrialization. Vietnam is expected to outpace its current 34-gigawatt generation capacity soon, according to Oxford Business Group.
[Photo via Duc Long Group]
