Pollution raises a stink with investors

Locals have been left reeling as poor waste treatment methods have led to pollution

Lives and investment disrupted by pollution

Tran Van Thanh, a nearby Thai My resident, said that the offensive odours could be detected five kilometres from the Phuoc Hiep waste treatment complex due to strong winds. As a result, Thanh has to wear a mask while working at home and uses bottled water instead of water from the well which has been polluted. He said that local residents had submitted complaints to the local authorities a long time ago.

Nguyen Van Ut, Chairman of the Duc Hoa District People’s Committee in Ho Chi Minh City’s neighbouring province of Long An, was saddened that residents must endure pollution from waste treatment plants in Cu Chi. Ut also explained that air pollution at Tan My, Duc Lap Ha, and Duc Lap Thuong communes in the province all stemmed from the Hiep Phuoc complex.

The Hiep Phuoc complex has three factories, however one belonging to the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Environment Limited Company (Citenco) has been closed. The remaining two factories are owned by Vietstar and Tam Sinh Nghia, both of which are the cause of the pollution that has upset residents.

Deputy Chairman of the Duc Hoa District People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Khanh said. “Many projects located in Duc Hoa in Long An, including a golf course and the Hong Phat residential area, are being delayed. Furthermore, future residents of the Resco building nearby, who have already been given home ownership certificates, but nobody has built anything yet. I believe that the terrible smell from the Hiep Phuoc complex is the culprit. If the Ho Chi Minh City authorities have no solutions for this, investments in Duc Hoa will be halted.”

When will the pollution stop?

On July 24, the Cu Chi District People’s Committee submitted Document 5407/UBND-TNMT to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, asking the city’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment to deal with the pollution from the Hiep Phuoc complex. In the document, Deputy Chairman of the Cu Chi District People’s Committee Nguyen Viet Dung noted that Vietstar, one of the two operators of the Hiep Phuoc complex, had accumulated 11,000 tonnes of non-recyclable gas, which is not stored properly but instead left outdoors, resulting in the pungent stench. Similarly, Tam Sinh Nghia abandoned 100,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste outdoors, without a roof and any treatment plans. Because of the inefficient proper water treatment process at both sites, the rain often washes untreated water to the TC-17 irrigation canal and forest soil of residents.

Incredibly, CEO of Tan Sinh Nghia Nguyen Van Phuc denied all accusations, adding that the factories were still operating as usual in the 20-hectare land and eight treatment lines that turn waste into fertiliser. Phuc also blamed the storm in May for flooding the firm’s water treatment system, and Tan Sinh Nghia would solve the issue “eventually”.

In the July meeting with the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, a representative asked if the Hiep Phuoc complex had only treated 80,000 tonnes of waste, leaving the rest outdoors, and creating the major pollution concern. In response, Dao Anh Kiet, head of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Natural Resources and Environment, explained that “2,000 tonnes of waste from the Hiep Phuoc complex had been moved to the Da Phuoc treatment plan on a daily basis. The remaining half that cannot be treated as compost waste needs to be buried. However, a Japanese firm currently uses the dumping site, so the Hiep Phuoc operators must store the waste. This storage process is responsible for the air pollution.”