Cái Lớn - Cái Bé Irrigation Project Phase 1 was approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to invest in construction projects at the end of 2019, with a total investment of 3,309.5 billion dong from Government bonds capital and state budget capital.
The project consists of a construction work component in Kiên Giang province, which occupies an area of 54.5 hectares of land use; livelihood model components and non-structural activities implemented in many other localities. The construction system consists of Cái Lớn sluice which is about 2,100 m far from Cái Lớn bridge towards Hậu river, Cái Bé sluice which is 1,900 m far from Cái Bé bridge towards Hậu river, asphalt dyke connecting Cái Lớn sluice, Cái Bé sluice to national highway 61 (5,843 m long, 9 m wide surface), and many bridges, underground sewers on the dike route. Cái Lớn - Cái Bé Irrigation Project will be completed before 31 December 2021, with the task of controlling water resources (saline water, brackish water, water), creating stable and sustainable production conditions for ecological production models (water, saline water - brackish water, water- brackish water alternately) for the beneficiary area with natural area 384,120 ha, of which agricultural and aquacultural land is 346,241 ha. The Cái Lớn – Cái Bé irrigation system combines the west sea dike route to form a group of works to proactively cope with climate change, sea level rise and natural disaster prevention; reduces flooding when the ground is lower (due to land subsidence); reduces drought, salinity damage in the dry season for production models in the region; contributes to fresh water supply and developes transport infrastructure etc.
Layout of Cái Lớn - Cái Bé Irrigation System
According to Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng, the Cái Lớn - Cái Bé project aims to control salinity; resolve conflicts between coastal aquaculture areas and agricultural production areas in Kiên Giang, Hậu Giang and Bạc Liêu provine in Cái Lớn - Cái Bé river basin; contribute to stable fisheries development in coastal areas of Kiên Giang province; proactively respond to climate change, sea level rise; create fresh water sources for coastal areas to solve the shortage of fresh water in the dry season; prevent forest fire, especially in drought years; contribute to stable socio-economic development; strengthen the drainage of floods, waterlogging, and acidifying soil to improve alkaline soil; combine development of waterway and road transport in the project area. The environmental impact assessment (EIA) of Cái Lớn - Cái Bé project was a result of a rigorous, meticulous working process with the intellectual contributions of many agencies and scientists. The evaluation council consists of 21 scientific staff, managers (in many fields related to water resources, environment, biodiversity etc.) who had worked with high responsibility, objectivity and scientific. The decision on approval of the EIA report of Cái Lớn - Cái Bé project ensured strict compliance with environmental protection requirements and attached conditions as a basis for the implementation of the next steps, in accordance with provision of Vietnamese law.