Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai on June 21 attended a ceremony to inaugurate the second phase of Soài Rạp channel dredging project in the Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park, Nha Be district, Ho Chi Minh City.

Started in 2013, the project cost nearly 131.6 million USD with over 103 million USD financed by Belgium.
The 54-km channel was equipped with warning systems, marking buoys and other devices, allowing 50,000 deadweight tonnage vessels to traverse ports in Ho Chi Minh City.

In the coming time, it will be dredged to the depth of up to 12 metres in service of 70,000 deadweight tonnage vessels.

Addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister Hai said the project forms part of the national maritime economic development strategy by 2020.

The navigation route in Ho Chi Minh City plays the most important role in economic development as well as national defence, he added.

The same day, the Deputy Prime Minister visited the Da Phuoc Solid Waste Treatment Complex in Ho Chi Minh City and had a working session with its operator, Vietnam Waste Solutions.

He highly valued the cooperation between the municipal authorities and the operator in promot ing th e modern waste treatment method, which helps reduce environmental pollution.

The 150 million USD project has its first phase completed with a 30-hectare landfill that can handle 10,000 tonnes of waste per day. The complex is currently treati ng 3,000 tonnes of waste per day discharged by Ho Chi Minh City and 20 tonnes by Long An province.-VNA