Hoa Binh Hydroelectric Plant: The Epic of the 20th Century
Is the Da River an unconquerable river?
According to Labor Hero Thai Phung Ne, since 1940, when the French came to Vietnam, they conducted explorations under the riverbed along the Hoa Binh route and discovered layers of sand and gravel underneath, which the technology at that time was not yet capable of handling. The same thing happened again, the French continued to drill at the Cho Bo and Suoi Rut routes, but unfortunately all drilling routes encountered layers of sand and gravel like the Hoa Binh route. Finally, the French came to a conclusion, that is, "the Da River is uncontrollable".
In September 1971, while conducting drilling No. 1, similar sand and gravel layers continued to occur for Vietnamese and Soviet geological experts. To scientifically explain this phenomenon, they had to conduct a test drilling of all routes and start comparing the construction volume of the routes. The survey to select the routes at that time was extremely tense. Finally, the result was 6 proposed routes: the first route was Suoi Rut, which started from the foot of the Moc Chau plateau; next was the Suoi Hoa route, which started from Thanh Hoa and flowed into Da River; the third route was Cho Bo or Da Bac; the fourth route was Hien Luong; Hoa Binh above and Hoa Binh below were the last two routes of the 6 routes.
After the survey drilling process was completed, the results showed that all 6 routes contained sand and gravel layers underneath. However, only two routes had detailed design projects, the fifth and sixth routes - Hoa Binh above and Hoa Binh below. The Hoa Binh above route was selected by experts from the Baku Hydropower Design Institute - Republic of Azerbaijan. In addition, experts from the Moscow Hydropower Design Institute chose the Hoa Binh below route. However, in order for the Hoa Binh below route to be truly selected, a fierce debate had taken place beforehand.
A project of the century
“Why, when the country is still poor, is a project that requires such a large financial resource built?” - A question raised by many domestic and foreign experts when they studied the feasibility of the Hoa Binh Hydropower Project. Finally, reality has provided an answer that could not be more appropriate, Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant brings 4 extremely great and outstanding uses, it helps us control floods, generate electricity, irrigate and ensure waterway traffic. This project has contributed significantly to the socio-economic development of the country. Therefore, it can be said that our Party and State have made a historic decision when determined to build the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant, even though the country is still in a difficult context.
The success of the project must be attributed to the great and wonderful contribution of our Soviet brothers, who provided us with the necessary equipment, highly qualified human resources, and much sincere support, allowing us to continue to build the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant in the context of the country's many difficulties and hardships. Together with Vietnamese cadres and workers, Soviet experts have always accompanied and shared to build the project with unprecedented progress. It is also from such projects that the Vietnamese team of engineers and workers have the opportunity to learn and inherit the high technology of Soviet experts. It can be said that the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant is a symbol of the beautiful friendship between Vietnam and the Soviet Union. Mr. Godunov Boric Ivanovich, who once held the position of Deputy General Soviet Technical Expert, wrote in his memoirs: “The Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant was built in the context of Vietnam's economy facing many difficulties. Therefore, in addition to providing design documents and sending experts to work, the Soviet Union also provided materials and equipment to build auxiliary production facilities as well as build housing areas for experts, and provided technological equipment and construction machinery with spare parts.”
General Expert Pavel Timofeevich Bogachenko, is one of the people who made great contributions to the success of the construction and the establishment of the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant today. In 1979, he was sent to Vietnam as a General Expert and directly managed the construction of the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant.
In addition, Bogachenko P.T. must be mentioned. He is one of the few experts with the most experience in the field of construction as well as the operation of large hydropower projects. He regularly studies every detail of the project in specific technical production conditions, has the ability to manage, create solidarity and organize the work of the collective effectively. In addition, he also knows how to help them make optimal use of the management apparatus and construction organizations of Vietnam. Like a "conductor" of the project, he always controls the progress of the work in a timely manner and always offers effective solutions, overcoming difficulties arising during the construction process.
November 6, 1979 was also the day that the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant project officially started. After more than 15 years of construction, the team of staff, engineers, design consultants and Soviet experts worked tirelessly and tirelessly, and finally on December 20, 1994, the Plant was inaugurated. On May 24, 2016, the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant reached the milestone of 200 billion kWh of electricity supplied to the national power system - a milestone that, up to now, no plant in Vietnam has been able to achieve.