The ground-breaking ceremony for a resettlement area for residents of Kho Vàng hamlet, Lào Cai Province took place on Saturday. The area is expected to be completed before December 31. — VNA/VNS Photo Hương Thu
Work has started on the construction of a resettlement area for people severely affected by Typhoon Yagi in the mountainous northern province of Lào Cai by the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam).
The area is being built for residents of the Kho Vàng hamlet in Cốc Lầu Commune, Bắc Hà District, which was one of the areas in Lào Cai most affected by the typhoon.
It will be constructed on 2.5 hectares of land, which will give residents of about 40 households a place to live and get their lives back to normal.
Floods caused by heavy rainfall on September 9, two days after the typhoon made landfall, swept away three people and six houses in the hamlet’s Nậm Dẩu village.
The risk of landslides forced 115 people from 17 households to evacuate to a mountain top shelter earlier that day. All 115 people were found by the authorities two days later, and were provided with temporary shelters behind the Cốc Lầu Commune’s People’s Committee building.
Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, Trần Quang Dũng, deputy secretary of the PetroVietnam Party Committee, said the work started after three days of intensive discussions between PetroVietnam and Lào Cai Province’s high-level officials.
“We will ensure that the resettlement area has enough essential items for the people’s daily needs, and that it will be built based on new-style rural area standards,” he said.
“The culture, customs and practices of the Tày and Mông ethnic minorities, which make up the majority of Kho Vàng residents, will also be taken into account.
“The new location will be only 1.5 kilometres away from the old village, which has been approved by the residents.”
The resettlement area will be completed before December 31, Dũng said.
The project’s cost is covered by the social security fund and voluntary contributions from PetroVietnam employees.
Trịnh Xuân Trường, chair of Lào Cai’s People's Committee, said that the province will closely coordinate with PetroVietnam and the contractors to monitor the project's progress.
About 30 other resettlement areas need to be built in the province, he added.
“A working group has been formed to identify ideal locations that can be turned into residential areas,” he said. — VNS