Song May (Dong Nai) 500kV substation is being constructed by EVNNPT, expected to be put into operation in April 2013. Photo by Ngoc Ha - Vietnam Press Agency
*Households ask for high compensation rate
The 500kV transmission line Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong in Dak Lak province has a length of 75.4 km passing Ea Sup, Buon Don and Cu Mgar districts. Center Power Project Management Board (CPPMB) said that up to now sites of 164 foundation locations have been handed over by the local authorities and money have been paid for organizations and individuals. In particular, the location 2603 of Mr. Hoang Duc Chinh’s household in Buon Don district only allowed for constructing 3 bases and requested for more compensation.
In Dak Nong province, this transmission line includes 236 foundation locations with the length of nearly 116 km, passing through the Cu Jut, Dak Mil, Krong No, Dak Song, Tuy Duc and Dak Rlap districts. There are currently 6 positions have not yet handed over to contractors, in which Cu Jut District has 5 positions that the households did not accept the compensation rates for land and crops. For example, the location 3005 belongs to the seven year-old rubber plantations of household Bui Ngoc Tuat at Village 3, Nam Rang Commune. His family is demanding compensation VND 1 million per tree, while the compensation price of the Province is only VND 230,000 per tree. Mr. Pham Xuan Viet, CPPMB’s deputy head of Compensation department said that: Although this foundation has been set up since 2010, CPPMB and Compensation Council has been negotiating to pay 3 times, but up to now this household have not agreed to hand over land for construction. In Krong No, there are 2 households that asked for higher compensation rates. The compensation price for Land is VND 17,000 per m2 of Grade 2, but households demanded for VND 50,000 per m2. In the entire right of way, the households also demanded for compensation price of VND 1 million per tree.
Mr. Do Manh Hung, deputy director of Package 7 (Assembling and construction JSC) also said that among the total of 58 foundation locations, there are 2 locations with problem related to coffee trees, 1 location with problem related to rubber trees and 1 location is uncompensated land. If the district authorities do not make an enforcement decision soon, it will be difficult for the construction unit to complete the project on schedule as committed with the investors.
In Gia Lai, there is also 1 foundation location in Nghia Hoa, Chu Pah District not handed over to the construction unit as the households do not accept compensation prices for land and crops, although CPPMB and the Compensation Committee has called for payment 3 times. The right of way of transmission line in this province is being evaluated to set compensation plans, but the vast majority of households do not accept compensation unit price and support of the district.
According to Mr Tran Thanh Tu, deputy director of Song Da 11.5 Thang Long, the construction unit of package 11 in the Bu Dang district (Binh Phuoc), construction unit currently has finished 54 foundation locations, the remaining 6 locations are in compensation process. These locations belong to the Binh Minh and Minh Hung Commune with compensation problem on rubber trees, cashew, coffee and pepper. According to provincial regulations, the 10-year-old rubber tree has the compensation price of VND 225,000 per tree but households usually claim VND 1.2 million per tree. The same situation happens with pepper trees when domestic households insist on VND 600,000 per tree but the provincial compensation price is only VND 225,000 per tree.
CPPMB has continued sending document to the local authorities to accelerate site clearance activities but has not received any responses up to now. As scheduled, the transmission line will energize in December this year, so the rest of the foundation locations should be constructed this April. However, up to the middle of April, many domestic households have not handed land yet, the commission plan of 500kV transmission line Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong as directed by the Government is difficult to be implemented.
“But the most difficult and important task is to clear the right of way when string. Therefore, the People’s Committee needs to closely direct both site clearance for foundation locations and site clearance in the right of way when strings to meet this schedule", Mr Viet said.
For 500 kV transmission line Song May - Tan Dinh, Mr Nguyen Hai Dang, Deputy Director of Compensation department, Southern Power Project Management Board (SPPMB) said that the project has been carried out since August, 2009 but have not been strung yet due to site clearance issue. The 500kV Song May substation was also completely constructed to prepare for energizing, but currently there is no line connected. Location 0001, closes to the 500kV Song May substation and location 0002 of the lines also have compensative problem. Mr. Hoang Van Vuong family in Trang Bom District, Dong Nai requested for compensation of 2 - 3 grounds (VND 100 million per ground). Vinh Cuu district also entangles one household claiming for 60% of the recovered land. Dong Nai province has 13 households that did not receive compensation money due to compensation problem for eucalyptus and rubber, bananas trees. Binh Duong province has 52 households that did not receive compensation money due to compensation problem for rubber. Meanwhile, as scheduled, the power line will energize in May.
In the right of way of 500 kV Phu My - Song May passing Thong Nhat District (Dong Nai), households Tran Minh Thai, Le Van Dung and Hoang Thi Mai claim for 5 times higher than the compensation rates prescribed by the State. In addition, there are 46 affected households that did not agree to receive compensation money due to low unit price.
Regarding the 500 kV transmission line Vinh Tan - Song May, according to Mr. Dang, Ham Thuan Bac district has completed compensating the foundation and the right of way; Bac Binh district is currently designing compensation plan, which is estimated to complete the foundation and the right of way this late April. Mr Dang also said that at location 2302 (Ham Tan Commune), Mr. Nguyen Tu household required the compensation price of VND 200 million for the site. The local authority used to negotiate several times but this household is uncooperative, so they plan to prepare enforcement procedures.
*Local authorities have to step in
To tackle this situation, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai required People's Committee of provinces and city related to the project must create maximum favor for investors in compensation work, site clearance to ensure enough land funds to perform the project. The remaining problem is the effort of local authorities in completing the procedures about location agreement, construction licensing, and compensation price and not to arise any houses in the right of way.
According to Mr Nguyen Hai Dang, general director of SPPMB Compensation department, the most effective solution is that the local authorities cooperated with Electricity Company to negotiate households as no legal framework exists to support electricity sector, especially after Decree No. 69 / 2009/ND-CP of the Government on “land planning, land prices, land recovering, compensation, support and resettlement” took into effect since 1 October 2009. In addition to general policies, the local authorities also wanted the power sector deals with households by their own.
Under the guidance of the Government, the People's Committee of Binh Duong province has requested the People's Committee of Ben Cat and Phu Giao district to accelerate the procedure of compensation and assistance, and collaborated with CPPMB to encourage households to receive compensation according to the approved plan. In addition, the province also required the People's Committee of Tan Uyen district urgently collaborated with SPPMB to carry out compensation plan and support the remaining households according to the plan approved by the province.
According to Vice President of Binh Duong province Tran Van Nam, the People’s Committee of districts and provinces should review the complaints and suggestions of organizations, households and individuals, if they are reasonable, then the authorities should prepare settlement plans soon. In case having applied adequate compensation policies and regulations but all organizations, households and individuals still tried to extend the time and refused to hand over then the authorities shall strengthen legal documents and implement protective measures to accelerate the procedure of putting power projects into operation to serve the development of the province in particular and the country in general.
Under the guidance of the province, Ben Cat district (Binh Duong), Chon Thanh district (Binh Phuoc) also used to undertake negotiating activities and meeting with households several times but has not yet agreed on compensation plan. No districts have made a decision on land acquisition yet.
The urgency of 500kV transmission line project to bring power supply to the South in the current period is clear. However, if the local authorities do not directly and energetically cooperate with the Project Management Board to tackle site clearance issues soon then the slower the process is, the more the National Power Transmission system has to suffer from overloaded situation to meet the increased electricity demand due to the economic growth of Southern provinces this year and incoming years. More dangerously, the National Power Transmission system is also at risk of severs black-out when the 500kV North-South transmission grids are always in a state of overloaded situation.