An old rotten wooden bridge often washed away in flooding has been the only access to Xom Dao, Residential Quarter 15, Ninh Hiep Ward, Ninh Hoa Town, Khanh Hoa Province for several years...
An old rotten wooden bridge often washed away in flooding has been the only access to Xom Dao, Residential Quarter 15, Ninh Hiep Ward, Ninh Hoa Town, Khanh Hoa Province for several years. Khanh Hoa leaders have just decided to provide VN500 million funding to add to the budget to construct a new solid bridge.
Xom Dao is located hidden in a 1.5m wide lane and surrounded by a branch of Dinh River. The temporary wooden bridge, 16m long, 1m wide, is the only access to Ninh Hoa Town from Xom Dao. The bride is now run-down with leaning piles and rotten planks. “I have been living here for more than 30 years. The place is often submerged in floodwater. More than 15 years ago, the bridge made of bamboo trees was washed away, leaving the community cut off by floodwater, says a resident named Phan Thi Yen. “The beam bridge, dangerously decrepit, narrow and slippery, is in need of replacement. Local residents wish a concrete bridge for safe travel,” adds another resident named Tran Thi Tuyet Hanh.
Nguyen Huu Hieu, Head of the Residential Quarter 15, Ninh Hiep Ward says, “There are more than 50 households with 200 people, 1/3 of whom are school-age children in Xom Dao. Difficult travel has hindered the local economic development. There are just dozens of solid houses which are able to survive flooding, strong wind and storm surge. The rest are corrugated iron roofed ones.”
In 1999, the local authority and Farmers’ Association mobilized Vinh Phuoc Collective and some other agencies to fund building materials to construct a wooden bridge. The bridge has been repaired many times after a long-term use. Main bridge piles sank in 2016. "The cost of building a new concrete bridge is high, so the local authority has reported the issue to the town and suggested building a new concrete bridge. The expenditure of building a concrete bridge, 11m long, 4m wide, over Xom Dao is approximately VND1.26 billion," reports Nguyen Van Lanh, Chairman of Ninh Hiep Ward People’s Committee.
In a recent working session with Ninh Hiep Ward, Dao Cong Thien, Vice-Chairman of Khanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee has directed the Department of Finance to provide VND500 million funding for the ward to invest in a new concrete bridge. The remaining cost will be covered by the town budget. The ward leader has approved using the local budget from land use auction to fund the remaining expenditure. At present, the locality has completed the procedures and the construction is expected to begin this August and finish in late 2017, according to Nguyen Van Lanh.
T.L
Translated by N.T
