Racing Against Time for Site Clearance of the Canh Tang Reservoir Water Supply Pipeline

The Canh Tang Reservoir Project is a key agricultural hydraulic work with total funding for its compensation, support, and resettlement component topping 1,727 billion VND. The project is highly expected to guarantee irrigation water sources, provide clean water for domestic use, mitigate drought risks, and generate a powerful driving force for socio-economic development in the province’s western mountainous region. However, to guarantee the mandated schedule, site clearance (GPMB) has emerged as an urgent mission across localities traversed by the water supply pipeline, such as Yen Phu, Dai Dong, and Lac Son.

Leaders of Dai Dong Commune report on the deployment progress of the Canh Tang Reservoir water supply pipeline project running through the commune’s territory.

Persistent Bottlenecks along the Water Supply Route

According to a report from the Hoa Binh Regional Project Management Board, the project’s water supply pipeline system spans a total length of approximately 29 km. This comprises over 19.6 km for the main pipeline and more than 9.4 km for branch lines.

Due to bottlenecks in site availability, project construction progress is currently lagging behind schedule.

By mid-May 2026, local authorities successfully finalized site clearance for over 20.5 km, hitting roughly 70.7% of the targeted workload, leaving around 8.5 km outstanding. This uncleared workload is primarily concentrated in Dai Dong Commune (7.4 km), followed by Lac Son Commune (0.9 km), and Yen Phu Commune (0.2 km).

Significantly, tied to this uncleared area are over 200 households whose compensation, support, and resettlement schemes have yet to be finalized. This presents immense pressure for the respective localities, as the provincial government mandates the complete formulation of these schemes by the end of May 2026.

In Yen Phu Commune, the local People’s Committee is intensively reviewing dossiers to facilitate Phase-4 compensation for the Canh Tang Reservoir water supply pipeline item. Verified results show that 8 households are directly impacted by the project. The total area subjected to land acquisition is 436.3 square meters, including 236.1 square meters of agricultural land and 200.2 square meters of rural residential land. The project impacts 22 individuals and requires the physical resettlement of 2 households.

Due to site clearance hurdles, contractors executing pipeline and valve chamber items in Dai Dong Commune are currently operating at a minimal pace.

Mr. Bui Thanh Tùng—Chairman of the Yen Phu Commune People’s Committee—noted that the majority of the agricultural land plots were allocated by the State free of land-use fees. In several residential land cases, the plots originated from inheritance or gifts and had been legally recognized via land-use certificates. To calculate allowance schemes aimed at stabilizing the livelihoods of affected citizens, the commune People’s Committee is collaborating with a consultancy unit to determine specific land valuations. This is a critical yet highly intricate step, as valuations must closely align with actual market rates and strictly comply with the 2024 Land Law.

Meanwhile, in Dai Dong Commune, the pipeline runs through 14 hamlets with a total land acquisition area of roughly 3.48 hectares involving 321 households. To date, authorities have finalized land and asset-on-land inventories for 320 households, while 1 household remains uncooperative.

According to Mr. Bui Anh Quoc Vuong—Vice Chairman of the Dai Dong Commune People’s Committee—as of mid-May 2026, the commune approved Phase-1 compensation schemes for 76 households with total funding of over 2.638 billion VND. Payouts have been delivered to 75 households, with 1 household requesting a re-inventory of their standing crops. The locality also ratified Phase-2 compensation schemes for 94 households across 142 land parcels, totaling more than 4.026 billion VND. Furthermore, the commune issued land acquisition decisions covering over 5,243 square meters from 72 households to facilitate pipeline construction.

Dossier Discrepancies and Valuation Snags

The Vice Chairman of Dai Dong Commune pointed out that the structural bottlenecks in compensation and site clearance stem from the fact that most Land Use Right Certificates (CNQSDĐ) remain registered under the names of deceased parents, as inheritance procedures were never finalized. Since their descendants work far away from home, securing signatures for asset division protocols faces steep obstacles, resulting in a backlog of compensation dossiers.

The Canh Tang Reservoir water supply pipeline traverses 14 hamlets of Dai Dong Commune, making it the locality with the largest site clearance workload along the entire route.

Furthermore, determining specific residential land valuations consumes substantial time because it requires hiring independent asset appraisal consultants. For certain agricultural production structures built on land designated for perennial crops, legal grounds remain insufficient to apply compensation rates under current regulations, preventing affected households from reaching a consensus.

Compounding these challenges, the project must relocate around 40 utility poles to clear the path for pipeline construction. In Lac Son Commune, two households refuse to consent to the alignment route because the pipeline is designed to cut directly through the middle of their residential compounds. Various households are also petitioning for supplementary compensation and support policies regarding the pipeline’s right-of-way corridor (hành lang tuyến), where their land-use capabilities are restricted.

Statistics show that in Lac Son Commune, 51 households are still undergoing land origin verification because they have yet to submit their Land Use Right Certificates. In Dai Dong Commune, 147 households have incomplete site clearance compensation schemes. Beyond dossier snags, on-site execution has triggered pipeline alignment adjustments at several locations.

Hurdles in compensation and site clearance serve as the primary cause dragging down project progress.

Faced with these constraints, Mr. Truong Manh Toan—Deputy Director of the Hoa Binh Regional Project Management Board—affirmed that the unit is constantly urging and supervising local authorities to finalize compensation schemes for the remaining 207 households. Concurrently, communes are requested to urgently verify land origins, approve specific land valuations, and completely finalize all compensation and support works prior to the deadline mandated by the province.

Yen Phu Commune hosts 8 households in Trang Da and Vanh hamlets affected by the project.

Ultimately, the Canh Tang Reservoir Project serves not only as a conventional irrigation network but as a strategic pillar for the socio-economic rise of the province’s western mountainous region. Therefore, dismantling the current “bottlenecks” in site clearance is the decisive factor to bring the project to the finish line on schedule, allowing it to translate investment capital into real-world efficiency.

Manh Hung