Nam Rom river embankments are Dien Bien's way to reduce disaster risks, protect agricultural land, and adapt to climate change.
The Nam Rom River flows through the Dien Bien basin and is closely tied to local residents' lives and livelihoods. With a vast agricultural production area, the water source is both an essential condition and a potential risk during floods. Therefore, river training aims not only to prevent landslides and improve flood drainage but also to protect agricultural land, increase water supply capacity, and enhance agricultural resilience.
This is also the goal of the "Multi-hazard management of the Nam Rom river basin to protect livelihoods, adapt to climate change, and promote socio-economic development in Dien Bien province" project. This project receives support from international partners, with the French Development Agency (AFD) providing an ODA loan and the European Union offering a non-refundable grant.
A weir under the Nam Rom river basin multi-hazard management project in Dien Bien. Photo: Tran Huong.The project has a total investment of over 981 billion VND. Of this, AFD provides an ODA loan of 24.65 million euros (equivalent to about 748 billion VND). The European Union provides a non-refundable grant of 1.5 million euros (about 46 billion VND) through AFD for technical assistance.
Accordingly, alongside local counterpart funds, international resources support the implementation of construction activities while strengthening capacity for multi-hazard management and climate change adaptation.
A key objective of the project is to enhance water supply capacity for agricultural production across about 18,075 hectares. At the same time, increasing flood drainage capacity and mitigating landslides will help protect the land and reduce risks to the basin's production areas.
For agricultural producers in riverside areas, securing the water supply and minimizing flooding are constant priorities. Ms. Pham Thi Hoai (Nam Rom street, Dien Bien Phu ward) shared that during heavy rains, rising river water can flood riverside vegetable patches and affect production.
"During heavy rains, the river rises quickly, easily flooding riverside vegetable patches and affecting crops. If the river is dredged for better drainage, farmers will feel secure in their production", Ms. Hoai shared.
To address this problem, the project is implementing several activities on the Nam Rom River. Among these, dredging and clearing the riverbed are identified as crucial tasks to create space for the flow and increase drainage capacity during heavy rains.
According to Mr. Do Thuy Trung, Deputy Director of the Project Management Board for Agriculture and Rural Development Works of Dien Bien province, the project items are being actively implemented. However, during the rainy season, the rising water level and strong currents of the Nam Rom River hinder riverbed clearance and embankment construction. This requires contractors to proactively arrange construction schedules and plans suitable to actual conditions.
A section of the Nam Rom River flowing through Dien Bien Phu ward, featuring an embankment system on both banks. Photo: Tran Huong.Alongside the two weirs, the project is deploying an anti-landslide embankment system along both banks of the Nam Rom River with a total length of about 14.69 km, divided into three sections. The first section from the Nam Rom aqueduct to the location of weir No. 1 is about 4.53 km long. The second section from weir No. 1 to the C4 bridge is about 4.27 km long. The third section from the C4 bridge past the Bom La residential area is about 5.89 km long.
The embankments primarily aim to prevent landslides and protect land and riverside residential areas. In the Dien Bien basin, protecting the riverbanks also means safeguarding agricultural land from flood impacts and flow fluctuations.
The project is expected to minimize water-related disaster damage for about 40,000 people while increasing flood drainage capacity and reducing inundation for approximately 150 km² of the Dien Bien basin. Better control of disaster risks creates the conditions for agricultural production to remain stable and adapt to climate change.
Beyond infrastructure investment, the project features a non-structural component aimed at enhancing multi-hazard management capacity, climate change adaptation, and the monitoring and management capabilities of the Nam Rom river basin. This approach targets proactive risk prevention rather than merely post-disaster consequence management.