Món Hà village pioneers

According to the review, for the implementation of the Sơn La - Điện Biên - Tây Trang International Border Gate expressway, Mường Lạn commune is expected to have about 111 affected households. Among them, many households will have to relocate to new places to hand over the site for the project. Two resettlement areas are expected to be built in the commune; to date, resettlement site No.1 in Món Hà village has basically completed the site handover work.

As one of the households subject to relocation for the project, the family of Tòng Văn Tâm in Món Hà village has to leave the place they have been attached to for many years to move to a new resettlement area. Despite still being concerned about the major change in life, Tòng Văn Tâm and the family all agree and are ready to hand over the site for project implementation.

Tòng Văn Tâm shared: “When the province planned the new resettlement area, I myself and many households in the village were united and highly agreed with the policy of relocation and resettlement to implement the project.”

Closely following the preparations for the groundbreaking ceremony of component project 1, Tòng Văn Sương from Món Hà village did not hide the excitement and expectations about the changes that this key transport work will bring to local residents. Tòng Văn Sương excitedly shared: “This is a large project, holding very important significance for the development of the province as well as the lives of local people in the future. When propagated and explained by commune and village officials about the investment policy for the expressway, the people all understood and voiced their support. The residents hope the project will soon be implemented so that traveling becomes more convenient, agricultural products are consumed more easily, and life becomes increasingly prosperous.”

Along with the consensus of the people, the Mường Lạn commune authorities are highly focused on site clearance and preparing resettlement areas for the project. The commune has established a Site Clearance Steering Committee, assigned specific tasks to each member, and built a detailed implementation plan attached to each progress milestone.

“With the spirit of the Party committee going first, the government getting involved, and the Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations accompanying, we focus on propaganda and mobilization to create high consensus among the people,” emphasized Nguyễn Quang Lâm, Secretary of the Mường Lạn commune Party Committee.

That spirit of consensus continued to be more clearly demonstrated when Mường Lạn commune coordinated with the investing unit to organize the groundbreaking ceremony for component project 1 on May 20. The event marked the beginning of the key transport work, creating more momentum and determination in site clearance and resettlement in Mường Lạn commune and other localities in the project area.

Resettlement must stay one step ahead

Not only in Mường Lạn, the preparation for the implementation of the Sơn La - Điện Biên - Tây Trang International Border Gate expressway project is identified by Điện Biên province as a central political task with very high determination. In which, the consistent directing viewpoint clearly defined by the province is: “Resettlement for households must stay one step ahead.”

The provincial People’s Committee’s priority in allocating resources of over VND 1,424 billion to implement component project 1 and organizing a separate groundbreaking ceremony for the resettlement project shows the strong political determination of Điện Biên province in implementing the expressway project.

The goal the province aims for is that households yielding land for the national key project must be moved to spacious, stable new places with better living conditions and livelihoods than their old ones before the official mainline construction is deployed. This viewpoint demonstrates the government’s responsibility toward people in the project area, creating an important foundation to accelerate the progress of site clearance.

In Mường Ảng commune, the work of propagating and mobilizing the people is deployed synchronously by the locality with the involvement of the entire political system. Local authorities organize public meetings to directly provide full information on guidelines and policies related to the project; simultaneously listening to the thoughts and aspirations of the people to promptly remove difficulties and obstacles.

Hà Thị Thanh Tâm, Chairwoman of the Mường Ảng commune People’s Committee, stated: “The commune determines that mass mobilization work must stay one step ahead. Commune and village officials directly visit each household to propagate and explain in order to create consensus during the project implementation process. In addition, the commune coordinates closely with specialized provincial agencies during the project implementation process, ensuring compliance with regulations, openness, and transparency.”

In Mường Phăng commune - a locality expected to have 96 households affected by the project, the atmosphere of consensus is increasingly spreading. People believe that the expressway will open up opportunities for more convenient connections with localities in the region, promoting trade, developing tourism, and enhancing the value of local agricultural products.

Lò Thị Thu, from Đông Mệt 2 village, Mường Phăng commune, shared: “Through the propaganda and mobilization of commune officials and specialized agencies, we understand and agree with the policy of building the expressway, ready to yield land for the State to implement the project. The people hope to soon be arranged with convenient and stable new places to live and develop the economy with peace of mind.”

According to Trần Văn Tuấn, Chairman of the Mường Phăng commune People’s Committee, the commune is focusing on coordinating with related units to carry out propaganda and mobilize the people. The commune’s viewpoint is to closely follow the grassroots, firmly grasp the situation of each household to promptly resolve arising difficulties right from the beginning. Mường Phăng commune determines that the consensus of the people is the important factor deciding the progress of site handover.

Any project is hard to succeed without the consensus of the people. Therefore, Điện Biên province determines that mass mobilization and propaganda work is a particularly important task. The provincial Party Committee and the provincial People’s Committee directly assign tasks to local Party committees and authorities, along with the Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations, to strengthen their presence in the area, grasp the thoughts and aspirations of the people; and propagate so that people clearly understand the meaning and importance of the expressway for the socio-economic development and national defense and security assurance of Điện Biên province and the Northwestern region.

The consensus of the people and the high determination of the entire political system create an important driving force for the Sơn La - Điện Biên - Tây Trang International Border Gate expressway project to be deployed on schedule, meeting the development expectations of the locality and the Northwestern region.