On this occasion, Vietnam Waste Solutions Company Limited (VWS) had a working session and reported to the National Assembly's Supervisory Delegation on the investment, construction and operation of the Da Phuoc Waste Treatment Complex. This was an opportunity for the company to share the results achieved after nearly 20 years of operation, and at the same time propose to remove some obstacles to continue accompanying Ho Chi Minh City in the work of protecting the urban environment.
Nearly 20 years of cleaning up the city environment
Ms. Huynh Lan Phuong, Deputy General Director of VWS Company, said that the Da Phuoc Waste Treatment Complex invested by VWS started operating on November 1, 2007. The investor is Mr. David Duong, General Director of California Waste Solutions Company, an experienced enterprise specializing in waste treatment and recycling in the US, who returned to invest in Vietnam at the call of the Vietnamese Government .
The project is built in the form of socialization, with a total implementation period according to the contract of 50 years. Over the past nearly 2 decades, this project has received and processed a large amount of domestic waste in Ho Chi Minh City with about 5,000 tons of waste/day, contributing significantly to maintaining urban environmental sanitation.
According to VWS's leadership representative, the project is operated and strictly complies with environmental, investment, and tax laws and always ensures stable and safe operations. This is the result of the company's continuous efforts as well as the support and assistance from the authorities throughout the operation.
At the meeting, Ms. Huynh Lan Phuong also shared some remaining issues that affect the long-term operational efficiency of the project. Among them, there are contents related to the implementation of items according to the contract signed in 2006. Specifically, the green belt area surrounding the project with a total area of over 300 hectares has not yet been implemented by the city as committed. The lack of a green buffer zone not only affects the landscape and environment but also directly impacts the environmental protection costs of the enterprise.
In addition, the provision of clean water from the water system to the waste treatment plant has not been implemented, forcing businesses to exploit groundwater to operate the system, while the general policy is to limit the use of groundwater resources.
Another difficulty is related to the two systems for sorting recyclable waste and producing compost, which were fully invested in since 2010 but have not been able to operate effectively because the waste sorting at source in Ho Chi Minh City has not been implemented synchronously. Therefore, most of the waste brought to the factory still contains many impurities and cannot be processed according to the original design process, causing investment waste and increasing maintenance costs.
Regarding garbage transportation, VWS said that many of the garbage trucks managed by the city are old and operate inconsistently, causing leachate to leak and litter on the road, especially from Nguyen Van Linh Street to Highway 50 to the factory. Although not under the contract, the company has proactively invested in an automatic car wash system to clean all of the more than 1,000 vehicles entering and leaving each day.
The company also hopes that local authorities will pay more attention to regularly sweeping and washing the streets to reduce odors and dirt, contributing to environmental hygiene and avoiding misunderstandings among people about the source of odors from the factory.
Converting modern waste-to-energy technology
In order to implement the policy of reducing the landfill rate of Ho Chi Minh City, VWS is implementing a project to convert waste treatment technology into waste incineration technology to generate electricity with a capacity of 3,000 tons/day. The total expected investment capital for this project is up to 395 million USD, using advanced technology from G7 countries to ensure standards on emissions, environmental safety and public health.
However, VWS also recommends a mechanism to adjust waste treatment prices to match investment levels and exchange rate fluctuations, because the current ceiling price no longer corresponds to actual costs. If the treatment price is not enough to compensate, it will be difficult for businesses to maintain high technology and they will have to consider choosing other, less effective technological solutions.
“We hope that the central and local authorities will facilitate the removal of legal obstacles and ensure a stable investment environment to continue to accompany the State in long-term environmental protection programs. During the time of completing the appraisal and approval process of the “Conversion of Waste to Energy Technology” Project, VWS Company will continue to maintain and ensure the enterprise’s operational capacity in receiving and treating waste safely and meeting the quality as committed to the city,” Ms. Huynh Lan Phuong emphasized. The company also requested the city and ministries to pay attention and support legal issues for the 12MW gas-fired power plant, a completed project, so that it can soon be integrated into the national grid.
In addition to the project in Ho Chi Minh City, VWS is also the investor of the Green Environment Technology Park Project in Tay Ninh Province, which is part of the national planning for solid waste treatment. However, the project is facing difficulties due to the lengthy appraisal process and unclear policies, causing a delay of nearly 6 years in implementation. “With the difficulties and obstacles in policies for FDI projects, we hope that the National Assembly's Supervisory Delegation will consider and help remove difficulties, creating conditions for the project to operate and implement more effectively,” Ms. Huynh Lan Phuong confided.
Acknowledging the opinions of VWS Company's leaders, Mr. Le Quang Huy, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Science, Technology and Environment, Deputy Head of the monitoring delegation, said that the delegation had listened and would have a working session with relevant units to resolve the difficulties and obstacles of the enterprise.
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/cong-ty-vws-kien-nghi-thao-go-mot-so-vuong-mac-trong-bao-ve-moi-truong-do-thi-post805519.html
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