Da Nang might become the first city in the country to require inspection of motorbike exhaust fumes if the Viet Nam Register's recent proposal to the Transport Ministry is approved.

The proposal suggests three stages of roll out for the programme. Starting July 2018, exhaust fume inspections will be required of Da Nang citizens who have motorbikes 10 or more years old. The following year, the requirement will expand to motorbikes five or more years old.

Rush hour traffic on a HCM City road. The city plans to follow Da Nang on inspecting motorbike exhaust fumes

The hope is the policy will expand to include motorbikes registered in Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Can Tho and Ho Chi Minh City by July 2020.

Motorbikes that do not meet exhaust fume standards would have to be updated and re-verified. Those that meet standards would receive a stamp. Those found failing to update their motorbikes, or have a stamp of approval, would be subjected to fines.

Residents complain that the arduous motorbike fees they already have to pay will increase yet again if the new measures are adopted.

Nguyen Huu Tri, deputy head of the Viet Nam Register, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that residents would likely only need to pay 100,000-150,000 VND (4.7-7.1 USD) for a yearly inspection.

The agency also intends to request that motorbike-manufacturing firms such as Honda, Suzuki, Piaggio and Yamaha set up stations to verify exhaust fumes.

In addition, any enterprise with qualified employees in possession of standard equipment to check exhaust fumes can register to set up verifying stations.

According to officials, Da Nang was selected for the pilot because of its reasonable size - 1 million residents and 713,000 registered motorbikes – and its reputation for good public administration.

The efforts to monitor and control motorbike exhaust fumes are part of the Prime Minister's Decision 909, issued on June 17, 2010.

Decision 909 required that at least 20 percent of bikes in the country cut down on exhaust fumes in the 2010-13 period, but efforts to do so failed to materilise until now.

Statistics from the Viet Nam Register show that by the end of 2014, the number of registered motorbikes in Hanoi, Da Nang, HCM City, Hai Phong and Can Tho totaled at 13.5 million, about 30 percent of the total motorbikes nationwide.

(Source: VNA)