The dam of Song Tranh 2 hydropower plant.

Mr. Le Quang Hung, Director of the Agency of State Assessment of Construction Quality (Ministry of Construction) said early this week that under the Government’s direction, the Song Tranh 2 Hydropower Plant still keep the water level of 140 m. The authorities have hired consultants to assess, evaluate the maximum earthquakes, the stimulated earthquake potential in the area to know if the water level in the reservoir is 30 meters more, will stimulated earthquakes occur.

Hung said there are two consultants doing this task, including the Institute of Geophysics of Vietnam with a VND10 billion ($500,000) project on general earthquake evaluation and Japan’s OYO with the project to evaluate the geology and earthquakes in the hydropower area, which is expected to be completed by the end of August. After the research conclusions of the two organizations are released, the authority will make decision on the Song Tranh 2 Hydropower Plant’s operation.

"Fortunately, there were no strong stimulated earthquakes in recent time, only an earthquake of over 3 Richter scales in the downstream of the dam so the dam was not affected. The flood season in Quang Nam is in September so the evaluation must be completed before the flood comes," he added.

Regarding the quality of the hydropower dam, the Swiss consultant - Colenco – said the dam is safe.

In early January, the Government directed relevant agencies to take solutions to ensure security for the Song Tranh 2 hydropower plant and people living in the region. Although domestic and foreign experts had confirmed the safety of the dam, the Prime Minister did not permit the Song Tranh 2 reservoir to store water yet to wait for further research of earthquakes.

Vietnamnet