Đà Nẵng to see its first waste-to-energy plant

Đà Nẵng to see its first waste-to-energy plant

The project would allow treatment of 1,100 tonnes of daily waste as input material to generate 18MW of energy.

A waste treatment facility owned by the Việt Nam Environment Joint Stock Company. — VNS Photo Công Thành

The Việt Nam Environment Joint Stock Company, a member of Amaccao Group, plans to build Đà Nẵng's first waste-to-energy project on 9.4ha of land, with an investment of VNĐ3 trillion (US$114 million) in the second quarter of this year.

The project would allow treatment of 1,100 tonnes of daily waste as input material to generate 18MW of energy.

Using combustion technologies from Martin Group of Germany, the project would help deal with almost all of the city’s current 1,200 tonnes of waste daily, with capacity to process even more waste in the future.

According to the company, the Việt Nam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) has agreed to provide an investment fund of VNĐ1.5 trillion ($57 million) for the project in a loan agreement.

Amaccao Group Chairman Nguyễn Văn Vinh said the waste-to-energy project will also treat the large amount of buried waste at the Khánh Sơn dump, potentially turning the site into an urban service recycling industrial complex in the future.

The Khánh Sơn dump stored 1.4 million tonnes of rubbish between 1992 and 2006, resulting in contaminated groundwater and a polluted environment in the central city's suburbs.

Đà Nẵng's Department of Agriculture and Environment reported that the inner city generates more than 1,200 tonnes of garbage each day, of which 55 per cent is food, garden and park waste, and more than 22 per cent is plastic waste. Only 10 per cent of the total waste is recycled.

The tourism industry discharges more than 20 tonnes of plastic – about 17 per cent of the city's total waste – each day, but a plastic recycling plant has not yet been built in Đà Nẵng, or even in central Việt Nam.

A communication campaign to promote the five Rs (Recycle, Reduce, Reuse, Refuse and Repair) has been launched in the community, schools, residential quarters and offices.

However, only voluntary groups and scrap pickers collect recyclable waste, including paper, metal and plastic, as well as hazardous waste like batteries and light bulbs.

Đà Nẵng has reserved a total of VNĐ172 billion ($6.5 million) to build depots and purchase 4,000 garbage trucks to help reduce the downtown waste issue.

The city has been calling for investment in waste management infrastructure to deal with 3,600 tonnes of garbage each day by 2030. 

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