Borikhamxay irrigation project cancelled due to lack of funding
The Nam Sa Irrigation project in Borikhamxay province has been cancelled because the estimated cost of construction is too high, Acting Director General of the Irrigation Department Mr Douangxay Xinnachak said on Thursday.
Rice fields in the area of the Nam Sa Irrigation Project in Pakxan district, Borikhamxay province.
According to a survey, the project's construction cost has been estimated at over US$20 million, but only US$1.3 million in funding is available.
“We cancelled this project as it has only US$1.3 million in available funding, which was provided by a trust fund from three countries - India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA Trust Fund),” Mr Douangxay said.
The US$1.3 million pr ovided by the IBSA Trust Fund has been approved for use in repairing broken irrigation systems in the poorest areas of the province, he added.
The planned irrigation system was intended to cover almost 2,800 hectares of agricultural land. Some 1,620 families living in 14 villages in Pakxan and Pakkading districts are located in the project area.
The aim of the project was to improve food security, and reduce poverty and hunger in Laos.
People living in the project target area, who are mostly farmers, were very pleased the government was undertaking the Nam Sa Irrigation Project, according to the Department of Irrigation.
In March of last year, prior to project design, the Indian Ambassador to Laos and a team from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) were invited by the Department of Irrigation (under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) to take a field trip to the IBSA-funded Nam Sa Irrigation Project area.
The government has wanted to build this irrigation system for several years, but lacked the necessary financing, Mr Douangxay said.
A farmer in Phonxay village, Mr Xiengkham Inthalyvanh, said there are many farming families in his village who need the irrigation system.
“We cannot grow rice or cash crops because the area has no water in the dry season,” Mr Xiengkham told Vientiane Times .
“I'm almost 70 years old and I'm yet to see an irrigation system in my village,” he complained.
The IBSA Trust Fund was formed out of the IBSA Dialogue Forum in 2004. As an example of cooperation among three developing countries, the fund constitutes a pioneering and unique initiative to enhance South-South cooperation for the benefit of nations of the south.
Its purpose is to identify replicable and scalable projects that can be disseminated to interested developing countries as examples of best practices in the fight against poverty and hunger.
