On Tuesday afternoon, the Vice Chairman of Da Nang People’s Committee, Mr Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, hosted a reception for the Japanese Parliamentary Vice Minister of the Environment, Ms Tomoko Ukishima.

Vice Chairman Tuan said that in recent years Da Nang has given top priority to developing hi-tech industries as well as refusing any FDI projects which pollute the environment.  He also affirmed that the city would like to boost bilateral cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to deploy local environmental projects.  Currently, the city is facing some difficulties with solid waste treatment.  Also, local landfill areas are likely to be full by 2018, and as a result the construction of a waste treatment and recycling plant is essential.  In addition, the host said he hopes that Japan will part-fund the construction of a water supply plant on the northern side of the city.  He also said he would like Japan to accelerate cooperation with the city to implement local energy-related programmes.

Vice Chairman Tuan (left) and Vice Minister Ukishima

For her part, Ms Ukishima said that her country has conducted surveys on some environmental projects in Viet Nam, and visited the city’s Khanh Son waste dump.  She remarked that Japan and Viet Nam, and Da Nang in particular, will enjoy more cooperation opportunities in reducing urban solid waste and increasing renewable resources, and other related issues.  In addition, she expressed her belief that more bilateral cooperation programmes will be implemented in the near future, especially in domestic wastewater treatment and raising awareness of environmental protection among the younger generations.