Assessing the Environmental Impacts of the Artificial Navigation Channel in Southern Vietnam

The new Hau’s entrance navigation route (known as “bypass project”) has been kicked-off in Tra Vinh province with aim to increase the availability of waterway traffic in the Mekong delta. The improvement project includes with existing Quan Chanh Bo channel and 8 km of artificial channel was 1st launched in 2017. After years of operation, the project has taken its effects on the movement of the large cargo vessel to the inland ports. However, with immense biological risks identified, riverbank erosion coupled with the risk of deposition has raised questions to governments and scientists about its viability. This paper analyses the environmental impacts of the navigation channel in context of bank stability and sedimentation discharge. It was shown that, digging of new canal has significantly affected the current velocity at the river mouths. It is also found that, increasing of the movement through navigation channel is expected to increase the risk of bank erosion and sediment deposition in simulated volume of sediment discharged is 691.483 m3/year.