Vietnam to support US$22.39m to drought and saline intrusion-hit localities

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has proposed a financial package of VND515 billion (USD22.39 million) to assist 25 cities and provinces affected by drought and saline intrusion.

The recommendation was sent to the Ministry of Finance before being submitted to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc for consideration.

According to the MARD, due to the rainfall reduction last year, the water level at hydropower and irrigation reservoirs in most of the localities nationwide is equal to just 50-80% of their designed capacity.

For instance, Hoa Binh hydropower reservoir’s water level now accounts for just 60% of its design capacity, a 30-year record low. The rate in many reservoirs in the central region has dropped to 15-30% of capacity.

This situation has resulted in the historic drought and saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta and water shortages in northern mountainous, midland, central and Central Highlands localities.

The rainfall deficiency has been forecasted to continue in the coming time due to the prolonged hot weather. The Central Highlands region would face water shortage and drought until the end of May and the problem would last in the central region by late August this year.

Localities have taken drastic measures to deal with the matter, including canal dredging, installation of temporary pumping stations and pond and well digging. This has helped to partially mitigate the consequence of drought and saline intrusion in many provinces.

Around 49,800 hectares of rice in the Mekong Delta region have been affected by drought and saline intrusion, however, this is still lower than the losses the region faced due to this problem in the 2015-2016 period.

The MARD has received the call for help to deal with drought and saline intrusion consequences from 25 localities, except for eight cities and provinces in the Mekong Delta region which have been approved for urgent financial support by the government.

Source: Dtinews