Aside from speeding up the construction of wastewater collection and treatment facilities along coastal streets, Da Nang, in recent years, has also strived to foster international cooperation in marine environment protection.

The construction of the wastewater collection project along Nguyen Tat Thanh coastal route is now underway. Photo: HOANG HIEP

Treating all collected wastewater

Wastewater has been one of major causes of pollution at beaches in Da Nang in recent years.

Director of the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment To Van Hung said Da Nang has been very interested in investing in environmental protection works, especially implementing two wastewater collection projects along coastal routes with a total investment of more than VND1,500 billion to protect the marine environment.

Specifically, the Da Nang authorities gave a nod to improve drainage and wastewater treatment systems on the eastern side of Son Tra District.

Under the project, a sewage system will be constructed to collect wastewater and rainwater along coastal roads, and then transfer them to the Son Tra Wastewater Treatment Station for treatment before being discharged to the Tho Quang Fishing Wharf.

Work started on the project in February 2020 and it is expected to be completed on September 30, 2021. However, up to now, more than 70% of the construction work has been already completed.

Recently, the municipal authorities have agreed to extend the deadline for the project to June 2022.

Meanwhile, the second stage upgrade of the Son Tra Wastewater Treatment Plant is on track, and the work is expected to be basically completed by the end of December 2021.

At a wastewater collection project along Nguyen Tat Thanh coastal route, construction workers have geared up their high sense of responsibility to complete construction items by June 2022 at the latest.

The Phu Loc and Ngu Hanh Son wastewater treatment plants have been already upgraded and put into operation during the year.

In order to protect the marine environment, over the past times, the Management Board for the city's Priority Infrastructure Investment Projects has completed the construction of wastewater collection systems along the My Khe and My An beaches, Tan Trao, Hong Thai and Da Co canals, and Trung Nghia and Hoa Phu lakes.

Prospects of international cooperation on marine environment protection

According to the Bureau of Seas and Islands under the Da Nang Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the city is attracting many international cooperation projects on marine environmental protection, especially projects on ocean plastic pollution reduction.

In particular, the city is carrying out a United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded project on tackling ocean plastic pollution,

Also, the city is developing an action plan to reduce ocean plastics under the support of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the Japanese government.

The municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment is collaborating with the Marine Research Institute - University of Plymouth in the UK to develop projects on detection of floating plastics from satellite and unmanned aerial systems, as well as on assessment of the socio-economic value of Da Nang Bay and its ability to receive and self-treat organic substances and carbon originating from the mainland in order to ensure the marine environment and other habitats recovery capacity.

On December 1, Da Nang People's Committee Vice Chairman Le Quang Nam was appointed as the Chairman of PEMSEA Network of Local Governments for Sustainable Coastal Development (PNLG) in the 2022 - 2025 term. This will help enhance the position and role of the central Vietnamese city in the common sustainable development of the Seas of East Asia, in parallel with strengthening international cooperation in the field of marine resources and environment in the city in the future.

Reporting by HOANG HIEP - Translating by M.DUNG