On Tuesday, Da Nang Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Xuan Anh paid an inspection visit to the Khanh Son Waste Dump in Lien Chieu District to check the implementation of environmental remediation solutions at this pollution hotspot which has received many serious complaints.

Most notably, the unpleasant odours being emitted from the landfill areas and rubbish treatment plants at the site have been considerably reduced since Secretary Anh’s last visit in October 2015.

This positive result was mainly attributed to the effective implementation of numerous environmental remediation activities at the waste dump.

Secretary Anh (second right) and other city leaders at the waste dump

Over 1.7 billion VND from the city’s budget has been spent on supplying clean water and buying health insurance for the 3,789 residents living within 1km of the waste dump.  In addition, free periodic medical examinations have also been given to those who collect garbage at the site to earn their livelihoods.

It was reported that issues concerning the environmental pollution problem at the site were no longer being raised by local voters at their recent meetings with representatives from the city authorities.

Secretary Anh (left) being shown clean water quality management equipment at the Cau Do water supply plant

Secretary Anh announced that the municipal authorities have already approved the construction of a new 100ha waste dump in Hoa Vang District’s Hoa Nhon Commune.  Next year, appeals for domestic and foreign investments will be made to build a waste treatment complex featuring advanced technologies in order to replace the existing garbage landfills.

On the same day, Secretary Anh also inspected the operation of the Cau Do (Red Bridge) Water Supply Plant in Cam Le District.

The Director of the Da Nang Water Supply Company (DAWACO), Mr Nguyen Truong Anh, asked central agencies to build a saltwater intrusion prevention dam at the Cau Do Water Supply Plant to deal with the current problem of increased salinity in the Cau Do River.  The focus should be on ensuring the quality of raw water at the An Trach Dam and taking the initiative to source water from the Yen and Tuy Loan rivers in Hoa Vang District in the context of the salinity of the Cau Do River.

Director Anh also proposed that the Hoa Trung water supply plant, with a daily treatment capacity of 10,000-15,000m3 of water, and the Hoa Lien water supply plant with a capacity of 120,000m3, should be constructed as soon as possible.  These plants will help ensure sufficient supplies of water for local demand, especially in preparation for the 25^th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit which will take place in Da Nang in October 2017.