Over the past 80 years, Ankroet Hydropower Plant has not only produced electricity to serve the people's livelihoods but also witnessed the ups and downs and changes of history...
According to the book “Geography of Lam Dong”, the project to build a hydroelectric plant on the Da Dang River (the source of the Dong Nai River) in the Da Lat area was proposed by the Indochina Public Works Department to the Governor-General of Indochina since 1925. However, for many reasons, it was not until October 1942 that the Ankroet hydroelectric plant began construction, and by the end of 1944 and early 1945 it was officially put into operation to provide direct electricity to the highland city, with the main goal of producing electricity for about 2,000 villas and mansions of colonial government officials and the administrative apparatus under their control. Initially, the plant had a designed capacity of 500 kW with two generators, each with a capacity of 250 kW. The electricity produced by the plant was transmitted to the central area by a 6.6 kV line with a length of 13 km…
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With the increasing development of Da Lat city, the higher demand for electricity has created pressure on electricity production, while the capacity of Ankroet hydroelectric plant cannot meet. Therefore, the repair and upgrade of this plant at that time became urgent.
According to the excerpts of the researcher Nguyen Vinh Nguyen, on December 6, 1957, Mr. Tran Van Phuoc (Da Lat mayor from 1955 to 1963) signed an official dispatch to the Presidential Palace requesting investment in repairing the Ankroet water plant. After that, this plant was upgraded, many items were repaired, and the power generation capacity was increased.
To carry out the restoration program, the Central Highlands' special bond budget No. 1 from 1953 to 1955 allocated 30 million VND to build a temporary Dankia dam, which could hold 20 million cubic meters of water needed for two large generators (1,250 kW each) and to pay for the installation of two more generators at the Ankroet hydroelectric plant, where there were only two small generators running at 250 kW.
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| Ankroet Hydroelectric Plant. |
Also in 1956, when winning the bid to build the Da Nhim hydroelectric plant, the Japanese took over the Ankroet hydroelectric plant.
Japanese contractors expanded the role of this plant by building a 31.5 kV line over 70 kilometers long running from Suoi Vang to Don Duong to bring electricity to serve the construction of the Da Nhim hydroelectric plant - the largest hydroelectric project in the South at that time with a designed capacity of 160 MW, a production capacity of 1.2 billion kWh/year, with a total cost of 49 million USD.
After the Da Nhim hydroelectric plant officially came into operation in 1964, the small-scale Ankroet hydroelectric plant was relegated to the “workshop” level. However, it still fulfilled its mission as a backup power source for the electricity needs of the resort city and the Da Lat vegetable and flower production area, with a stable output of about 15 million kWh/year.
According to archived data, by 1962, the capacity of Ankroet hydroelectric plant had increased to 3,100 kW after timely technical investment adjustments, ensuring electricity for the urban needs of Da Lat, especially supplying electricity to meet the construction of Da Nhim hydroelectric plant...
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Following the staff of the Ankroet hydroelectric plant, we visited the valley, lake, and Suoi Vang dam. The scenery here is majestic and romantic. However, we could not help but feel sad when visiting the long-abandoned cemetery with simple, deserted tombstones, and leaning crosses in the silent pine forest. This is the resting place of farmers from all over the country who were forced by the French colonialists to work as laborers to build the Ankroet hydroelectric plant. More than 80 years ago, the sacred forest and poisonous water kept their bodies in the wilderness.
Just recently, after the country was unified, this area became the focus of FULRO reactionary activities. To protect the safety and maintain the operation of the factory, there were workers who fell at the foot of the dam or next to the generator. Their blood was mixed with the electricity that gave life.
We could not help but feel sad when looking at the vast silver lake. The lake bed used to be the place where the Rhang Kroac village (the original Co Ho word for “Ankroet”) and more than four hundred hectares of fertile farmland of the villages of B’Dangya, B’Deung and B’Neur in Lat commune, Lang Bian area, Dran district, Dong Nai Thuong province used to be. Nearly a century ago, the Co Ho Lat ethnic minority sacrificed their ancestral land and their livelihoods for the birth of this hydroelectric plant…
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| Beautiful scenery at Suoi Vang Lake. |
A major change to the Ankroet hydropower plant was that from 1999 to 2004, Power Company 2 and Lam Dong Power invested 37 billion VND to upgrade all project items.
A leader of Lam Dong electricity industry said: “Ankroet Hydropower Plant is a project with beautiful architecture. Therefore, when the electricity industry invested a large amount of money to upgrade the plant, we were determined to preserve the charming beauty of a construction project with the typical mark of French architecture. In addition to the economic value it brings, Ankroet is also a cultural address, a witness to the historical flow of the country”.
Because of the unique beauty of the project, the factory and the dams in the system have become a highlight in the overall planning of the Dankia - Suoi Vang international tourism project that has been implemented by Lam Dong province in recent years.
The great thing is that despite having the oldest "life" in the list of national hydroelectric projects, until now, Ankroet hydroelectric plant still performs its main function with the regular operation of three generators, stabilizing the capacity of 4,400 kW, ensuring the annual supply of electricity output of 20 - 24 million kWh to the national grid.
The greatest value of the Ankroet hydroelectric plant is its historical existence, its position at the headwaters of the majestic Da Dang River. From this place, the first electricity workers on the Lam Vien plateau were trained and became leaders, experienced and highly skilled technical workers...
Source: https://baodaklak.vn/xa-hoi/202508/ankroet-nha-may-thuy-dien-co-nhat-dong-duong-ac7085c/
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