“Race against time” on the dam creating the landscape for Ha Giang city

BHG - The dam creating the landscape in the centre of Ha Giang City is a key project with important significance in the socio-economic development of Ha Giang City and the whole province. Taking advantage of the favourable weather these days, hundreds of workers, along with many pieces of machinery and equipment, are rushing through construction, racing against time, ensuring the completion of difficult and complex items on the riverbed before the flood comes (around the middle of the 4th lunar month).

The Ha Giang City Landscape Weir Project includes building a weir and regulating water levels, draining water according to the riverbed terrain, and ensuring flood drainage with a safe frequency; the regulating valve gate is responsible for raising the water level of the Lo River section through the centre of Ha Giang City during the dry season. In the rainy season, the valve door is fully opened to ensure flood drainage, with the valve gate operated by a hydraulic cylinder system. The bridge operates in conjunction with traffic built on the dam. The bridge has a length of 123.5 metres, ensuring inner-city traffic according to urban traffic standards, with a design speed of 50km per hour. The path at both ends of the bridge is nearly 63 meters long, connecting the transportation system on both sides of the river, connecting with the Southern Ring Road and National Highway No.2.

The project was started during the rainy and flood season when the Lo River water level rose, and the weather was rainy so the contractor temporarily stopped construction to ensure safety. In addition, both sides of the river have steep slopes and weak ground, making it difficult to gather machinery and materials and install a transformer station to supply electricity for construction, thus affecting the project’s progress. Therefore, the investor and contractor are always on duty to supervise, work in 3 shifts of 4 crews, and increase modern machinery to reduce labour.

According to the report of the Management Board of the Agriculture - Rural Development Construction Investment Project and the actual progress on the construction site, up to now, the Project has completed some of the most important and difficult items under the riverbed. For the traffic bridge, two bridge abutments M1, M2, bridge pier T3, and steel bridge pier T4 have been completed.

The dam to create the landscape in Ha Giang City has a total investment of 330 billion VND, including central and local budget capital. The completed project will create a lake bed with a capacity of about 2.2 million m3 of water with a length from the dam location to the end of 5.9 km; the water level will increase by about 5 m compared to the present, helping regulate air, and improve the environment, creating space for river tourism in the heart of Ha Giang City. At the same time, the connection between National Highway No.2 with the Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang Expressway and ring roads creates motivation for the socio-economic development of the province.

By VAN NGHI