Traffic restricted around Hòa Bình Hydropower Plant

HOA BINH — Starting this month, Hoa Binh Road that runs through Hoa Binh hydropower plant in the northern province will be restricted to traffic.

Only staff and special-use vehicles that serve the plant will be allowed to use the road, but only between 5.45-8.15 in the morning and 4.15-6.45 in the afternoon.

Director of the plant, Nguyen Van Minh, said that the decision to restrict traffic was made after the plant was recognised as an important work relating to national security last year.

However, he said that the plant managers would try to ensure convenience for people so that public vehicles could travel on Hoa Binh Road or visit the plant if needed.

Local residents were disappointed with the decision as the area was a popular place for exercise because of its quiet surroundings and fresh air.

The Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant, located in the northern province of Hoa Binh, is the second largest hydropower plant in Viet Nam, after the Son La Hydropower Plant, with an annual electricity output of over 10 billion kW/h.

The plant has taken on several important tasks, including ensuring flood and drought prevention for the downstream area, providing electricity to the national grid and improving waterway transport, as well as ensuring local socio-economic development.

It will be expanded in the future, with the installation of two more turbines that will raise total capacity from 1,920 MW to 2,400 MW by 2022, equivalent to the capacity of Son La Hydropower Plant, contributing to ensuring national energy security, Minh said. — VNS