Resilient irrigation structures. The operation and maintenance of agricultural infrastructure built through projects needs to be sustainable. Routine O&M costs have been reduced by the project’s concrete lining of the canals. In addition, the choice of this technology reduces water losses from canals and thus enhances irrigation efficiency and the reliability of water delivery. Where flooding is a predictable annual event, as in the Quang Binh subproject, concreting the top of the dykes and covering it with gravel may prevent damage. Concrete lining should be promoted, given that older parts of the existing irrigation infrastructure would have deteriorated without the lining done under the project. Piloting other technologies, such as buried pipe irrigation and closed concrete canals, should be explored as such systems are cost-effective in terms of O&M and more resilient to extreme weather events, leading to lower maintenance cost in the long term. The extraordinary damage caused by typhoons and consequent flooding requires further research with different technologies, especially given the emerging risks of climate change.
Central Region Water Resources Project