Deputy prime minister calls for effective use of 2,100 hectares created by river restoration

Restoring Vietnam’s polluted rivers could create about 2,100 hectares of land, and Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung wants that land managed as carefully as the waterways themselves.

Dung chaired a meeting on Sept. 4 about plans to restore the Bac Hung Hai, Nhue-Day and Ngu Huyen Khe river systems. The rivers support water security, households and production, but economic growth and weak management have pushed them beyond their capacity to cleanse themselves.

The deputy prime minister said localities had begun several tasks, but their efforts remained fragmented and poorly coordinated. Because the project covers five provinces and cities, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment must establish a clear coordination mechanism and assign specific responsibilities to each locality.

He asked the ministry to prioritize projects, identify how much funding would come from the state and how much from private sources, and clarify how private investment would be mobilized. Local authorities must assess their own resources and prepare feasible implementation plans.

Dung also called for clear operating arrangements once construction ends. Water-regulation works should be linked to clearing waterways and creating landscapes, while monitoring systems should receive modern and coordinated investment. Wastewater collection and treatment must operate as an integrated system.

He gave special attention to the land emerging from river restoration. Localities must plan and manage it closely, prevent encroachment and avoid inefficient use. The project, he said, should restore water resources while also creating new development space and a new appearance for riverside cities.

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These river systems play a major role in ensuring water security and serving daily life and production, but pressure from economic development and management shortcomings has pushed them beyond their capacity and left them unable to cleanse themselves.