VietNamNet Bridge – The Song Tranh 2 hydropower project met design requirements but construction of the gaps allowing water to seep through them without affecting the dam was not guaranteed and the project acceptance was not strict enough.

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Speaking at a press conference last Friday, Nguyen Van Lien, vice president of the State Appraisal and Acceptance Council, stressed monitoring equipment had not been installed sufficiently, with some of them damaged but unfixed.

This is the responsibility of not only the contractor but also the monitoring agency.

The press conference was held by the appraisal council and the government of Quang Nam Province to announce results on water leak treatment, safety assessment, and earthquake survey at Song Tranh 2 hydropower dam.

An assessment by independent Swiss firm AF-Colenco and views by experts at the appraisal council show Song Tranh 2 dam is still safe and stable if it holds water at a level of 175 meters and if earthquakes have a peak ground acceleration of 150cm/s2. The dam can also withstand more adverse load combinations such as earthquake with peak ground acceleration background of 220cm/s2 and the most adverse uplift conditions, assuming that all boreholes are clogged and the dam foundation is completely cracked.

The dam is designed in accordance with the standards applicable to the project. No crack has been detected in the dam body, upstream and downstream, heard the press conference.

The dam is built in the area with possible earthquakes of magnitude 3-6. The recently occurring tremors were triggered by water storage at Song Tranh 2.

VietNamNet/SGT