On April 23, 2021, a consultation workshop on the implemented contents of the Master Plan on Hydraulic Works and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control for period 2021-2030 and vision to 2050 was held in Ca Mau city (Ca Mau province) by the Directorate of Water Resources with the participation of experts and representatives of the provinces in the Mekong Delta.

The workshop was co-chaired by Mr. Luong Van Anh - Deputy Director General of Directorate of Water Resources (DWR), Mr. Do Van Thanh - Director of the Institute of Water Resources Planning (IWRP) and Mr. Do Duc Dung - Director of the Southern Institute of Water Resources Planning (SIWRP). Participated in the workshop were the representatives from agencies under the DWR, Department of Construction Management, Vietnam Academy of Water Resources, and representatives from 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta.

On behalf of the planning institutes, the consultants of the project, the representative of the SIWRP presented in detail the contents studied so far in the Master Plan on Hydraulic Works and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control for period 2021-2030 and vision to 2050, which emphasizes the results of defining goals, building planning scenarios and orienting major and important solutions in the development of infrastructure for hydraulic works and disaster prevention and control for the period up to 2030 and 2050 under different scenarios in the Mekong Delta to meet the requirements of socio-economic development, climate change adaptation and safety against natural disasters.

The workshop participants, especially the representatives of regional provinces, highly appreciated the results implemented in the planning and shared ideas and insights for the consulting institutes to consider and integrate into the planning project. Those are useful inputs to complete the contents of research, calculation and orientation of solutions to suit the development requirements of the most diverse agricultural development region of the country, but are also facing many challenges of climate change, sea level rise, upstream development and intrinsic development.

Mr. Do Van Thanh, as the project manager, affirmed that the association of the IWRP and the SIWRP has carefully studied the requirements, development scenarios, and correctly identified the problem and proposed recommendations with comprehensive solution, meeting the service requirements of hydraulic work and disaster prevention in the Mekong Delta in particular and in other regions of the country in general. Especially, hydraulic work and natural disaster prevention and control schemes must be adapted to the characteristics of the three ecological regions of the Mekong Delta. In the coming time, the consulting firms will receive comments from the provinces and related organizations to continue improving the planning and report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on schedule.

Speaking at the Workshop, Deputy Director General of the DWR, Mr. Luong Van Anh emphasized that this plan should create an overall orientation framework, enabling subordinate plans to further detail the solutions for each problem and each region. The planning should be oriented towards the right scale and objectives of a national sectoral plan, demonstrating major and important plans, solving urgent inter-regional and inter-national issues. Mr. Luong Van Anh also asked the provinces to stand side by side with the consulting firms to have consensus in major directions in disaster prevention and control and hydraulic work development in the region, and at the same time this can facilitate the provinces in developing their detailed plans.

After the workshop, the DWR and two planning institute organized a field trip to major hydraulic work projects being built in the region.

Some pictures of workshops and field activities.