Vietnam ’s 16 economic sectors need almost 7.6 billion USD for
environmental protection, especially the aquatic sector with 1 billion
USD needed.
Dang Van Loi, Deputy Director of the Pollution Control Department under
the Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA) said only 65 percent of 180
functional industrial zones nationwide were equipped with waste water
treatment systems by the end of last year.
Each day,
major urban areas dump an estimated 29,800 tonnes of solid waste. Of
that, about 83 percent is collected and treated. In rural areas, the
figure was about 30,500 tonnes per day with only 60 percent of it
collected for treatment.
Up to now, 17 cities and
provinces nationwide are in the process of approving solid waste
management plans while another 25 localities are drawing up plans. The
remainder, are giving consideration to the issue.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is working on a master
plan to treat solid wastes in three key economic zones, including seven
waste treatment facilities being built between now and 2020 at a total
cost of nearly 600 million USD.
According to the
VEA, in addition to issuing policy to develop environmental science and
raising public awareness of environmental protection, Vietnam needs to
attract more domestic and foreign businesses, with a view to turning
waste into useful products or energy using modern technology.-VNA