Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung, and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat were among those at the ground-breaking ceremony.

The project is estimated to cost almost 6 trillion VND (342.8 million USD), funded by the Irrigation Investment and Construction Management Board No. 4 under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Once completed in 2014, the reservoir will supply water for over 32,500 ha of farming land and serve production activities in the Thach Khe iron mine and industrial zones in the province.

The project will also serve a 15 MW hydroelectric power plant and aquaculture on 6,000 ha, as well as mitigating floods and improving the ecological environment in the lowlands.

At the ceremony, Deputy PM Hung asked the MARD and local authorities to take all necessary measures to ensure the quality, safety and tempo of the project. He urged the People’s Committees of Ha Tinh province and Vu Quang district to help more than 1,000 local households with 6,000 displaced people soon resume their normal lives and production.