HCM City Seeks Investors for Wastewater Treatment Plants
Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City is calling for investment in three planned wastewater treatment projects to treat about 365,000 cubic meters of wastewater a day in Thu Duc City.
The planned wastewater treatment projects include Bac Saigon 1 with a capacity of 700,000cu.m per day, Bac Saigon 2 with a capacity of 130,000cu.m per day and Suoi Nhum with a capacity of 65,000cu.m per day.
The municipal People’s Committee has asked the city’s Department of Planning and Investment to coordinate with relevant units to promote investment in the projects.
The city plans to open bidding for selecting investors to implement these projects by 2025, and expects to complete them in the 2026-2030 period.
These projects will help the city reach its target of treating 100% of domestic wastewater before being discharged into the environment.
In recent years, the amount of wastewater discharged into the environment has continuously increased. The average wastewater volume is estimated to have increased by nearly 7% each year.
More than 1.5 million cu.m of wastewater is generated daily in the city. Meanwhile, the total amount of treated wastewater in the city only accounts for more than 12%.
Untreated wastewater is discharged directly into the environment, affecting the landscape, water quality and daily lives of people.
For example, the Tham Luong – Ben Cat- Rach Nuoc Len canal has become a nightmare for residents on both sides of the canal because of its foul smell every time it rains.
The canal has a total length of 32.7km and spreads through the seven districts of Binh Tan, Tan Phu, Tan Binh, Go Vap, Binh Chanh, Binh Thanh, and 12.
The canal has been polluted for many years, affecting the living conditions of local residents.
After nearly seven years since the first phase was completed, construction on the second phase of the project on water drainage and environmental improvement of the polluted Tham Luong – Ben Cat- Rach Nuoc Len Canal in HCM City began in February, 2023.
The project will cost VN?8.2 trillion (nearly US$343 million). Construction is expected to be completed in 2025.
It aims to improve the quality of the environment and drainage systems, expand waterway traffic, improve the quality of life for local residents and give a facelift to areas on the banks of the Tham Luong canal.
By 2025, the city aims to reach its targets in water pollution reduction with about 2.6 million cu.m of wastewater treated, equivalent to 80% of the total volume of wastewater.
To achieve this goal, the city is focusing on implementing the second phase of its environmental sanitation project (Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe Basin) by 2030.