The Drang Phok Hydropower Plant project, which was started way back in 2007 and criticised for its impact on the ecosystem, has still not been scraped despite continued opposition.

Yok Don National Park has rich biodiversity and precious trees

In 2007, the chairman of Dak Lak Province at that time, Lu Ngoc Cu, granted his approval to the Tecco Company to survey the land inside Yok Don National Park to build the Drang Phok Hydropower Plant.

In 2011, former provincial deputy chairman Tran Hieu officially allowed Tecco to lodge a investment and construction plan. It was estimated that 53 hectares of forest land would be destroyed to build the 28MW plant.

Yok Don is the biggest national park in the Central Highlands and Drang Phok Hydropower Plant would be located near the core area of the park.

People fear that it may cause irreparable damage to the environment and biodiversity.

A Tecco representative claimed that their construction would not affect the surroundings as the forest was ‘poor’ and had low biodiversity.

Nguyen Van Lap, director of Dak Pri Hydropower JSC and representative for investors of Drang Phok Hydropower Plant project, claimed that the project would have marginal impact on the national park, but said that some effects on the ecosystem were inevitable.

Pham Tuan Linh, deputy head of forest ranger unit at Yok Don National Park, said local people once caught many rare fish from the Srepok River.

The fish swam to Srepok from Cambodia's Tonle Sap Lake to lay eggs. There are also various valuable trees inside the park.

Linh went on to say that if the hydropower plant went into operation, the water level would increase and affect aquatic species.

Illegal loggers would travel via waterways and hide from forest rangers easily, he said.

In addition, the work and noise from construction site will scare away many animals. According to Linh, Drang Phok Hydropower Plant project violated the law on forest protection and development.

Most provincial agencies opposed the project during a meeting on March 23, yet somehow there has yet to be an official decision to scrap the plan.

Dtinews