The Ho Chi Minh City Urban Environment Company cannot receive toxic waste from the city for treatment until May at the soonest, company Director Huynh Minh Nhut said March 4.
The import of some equipment and technology for the waste treatment plant in Dong Thanh Commune, Hoc Mon District, HCMC, has been held up and thus, the facility will not be completed for several more weeks, he said.
Once operational, the plant is set to have a treatment capacity of 21 tons of toxic waste per day. It was expected to come online late December last year, Mr. Nhut added.
This is the first and the most advanced plant for hazardous waste treatment in the city. It will be able to treat large volumes of waste, especially dangerous garbage that other facilities are unable to handle, he said.
HCMC discharges around 600 tons of toxic waste per day, he said. As the company could not put the plant into operation sooner, several privately owned waste companies have increased their prices for waste treatment from VND2 million per ton up to VND6 million (US$316) per ton.
However, their combined treatment capacity can meet only 5 percent of the city’s total volume of toxic waste, Mr. Nhut said.
