Columns of smoke in the heart of the capital

A plume of gray smoke emanating from a textile factory in Hanoi has drawn public attention. This factory should have been relocated more than 10 years ago, but it remains standing in a densely populated residential area.

The smokestack of Hanoi Industrial Textile Joint Stock Company (91-93 Linh Nam Street, Mai Dong Ward) was filmed by residents in March 2025 - Photo: Contributor

Recently, residents have taken to social media to plead for help, accusing this smokestack of being the main "culprit" causing the pungent burning smell and spreading fabric dust throughout the streets.

Every time they are "attacked" by smog and dust, residents complain to the ward authorities, but they still have to live with the dust, which permeates every apartment and every window.

Notably, the relocation plan was in place more than 10 years ago, but why hasn't the factory been moved out of the inner city yet? Adjacent to the factory is a large residential area. Hundreds of thousands of people live in Hoang Mai and Hai Ba Trung districts. For years, they have had to endure suffocating and oppressive conditions in a polluted environment.

Many people surely haven't forgotten the blaring sirens of fire trucks at dusk on August 28, 2019, as they rushed to extinguish a fire at Rang Dong Light Bulb and Thermos Flask Joint Stock Company in Thanh Xuan District. The fire caused hundreds of billions of dong in losses for the company.

But the greater concern is that approximately 15.1 - 27.2 kg of mercury were released into the environment, requiring decontamination. This company was not on the list of factories to be relocated out of the inner city before 2020, but the fire should have served as a wake-up call for other factories.

Currently, not only is smoke rising from the city center, but also from suburban districts of Hanoi such as Dan Phuong and Hoai Duc, where the situation is not being strictly controlled.

Hanoi still has about 1,300 craft villages, many of which have factories that discharge waste into the environment. To ensure clean air, in addition to controlling emission sources, it is necessary to quickly and decisively remove all polluting factory and enterprise chimneys from the inner city.

According to information from the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Environment, following instructions from city leaders, the department, along with the Hoang Mai District People's Committee and relevant agencies, inspected Hanoi Industrial Textile Joint Stock Company (91-93 Linh Nam Street, Mai Dong Ward).

The good news is that after this inspection, the textile company will have to cease operations and relocate out of the city center as planned. Initially, by August 2025, all polluting workshops must be moved out of residential areas.

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