Investing in wastewater treatment infrastructure to keep up with urbanization

The rapid urbanization of Hai Phong in recent years has resulted in an ever-increasing amount of wastewater. However, the treatment system has not kept up, making the problem of protecting the urban environment pose many challenges.

The City People's Council's monitoring delegation supervised the wastewater pumping station in Gia Vien ward.

Only 32% of domestic wastewater is treated.

Hai An Ward is one of the rapidly urbanizing areas with a population of nearly 103,000 people, so the amount of domestic wastewater generated is quite large. However, Vice Chairman of Hai An Ward People's Committee Nguyen Van Dung said that up to now, the ward has not had a wastewater treatment area.

As the ward with the largest population in the city, Le Chan has the advantage of having the Vinh Niem Wastewater Treatment Plant with large capacity in the area. However, Chairman of the People's Committee of Le Chan Ward Pham Van Tan said that the rate of collection and treatment of wastewater generated in the ward only reached 50%, because the above plant is also responsible for treating domestic wastewater for many central wards in the East of the city.

Domestic wastewater treatment is a common difficulty of the city. According to the Department of Construction, the total amount of wastewater that needs to be treated is more than 271,281 ^m3 /day and night. However, the city only has 15 domestic wastewater treatment plants for urban areas with a total treatment capacity of more than 66,360 ^m3 /day and night.

Of which, the East of the city has 6 factories with a total capacity of 44,000 ^m3 /day and night, the urban wastewater treatment rate is only over 42%. The West of the city has 9 centralized wastewater treatment factories with a total capacity of nearly 23,000 ^m3 /day and night, the urban wastewater treatment rate is over 22%. In the whole city, the wastewater treatment rate is only over 32%. The rest, domestic wastewater is treated in septic tanks before being discharged directly into the general drainage system and then discharged into the main rivers in the area.

The city has 34 wastewater pumping stations, but they were all built a long time ago and the sewer system is not synchronized, patchwork, small in cross-section... unable to meet the increasing volume of urban wastewater with the speed of urbanization. Deputy Director of the Department of Construction Nguyen Minh Tuan said that the city does not have a separate wastewater collection system but instead drains it together with surface water and discharges it directly into canals and regulating lakes, causing environmental pollution.

Staff of An Da wastewater pumping station (Gia Vien ward) operate machines to collect wastewater to the city's centralized treatment area.

Investment priority

The city has identified investment in drainage systems and wastewater treatment plants as a key task in urban infrastructure development. Therefore, in the Political Report presented to the first City Party Congress, the city set a target of 40% or more of urban wastewater treated to standards by 2030. To achieve the above goal, the city has set tasks such as investing in a system to collect and treat domestic wastewater combined with renovating and restoring lakes, ponds, canals in urban areas...

In September 2025, the People's Council will organize a thematic supervision delegation. implementation of legal regulations in state management of urban drainage and wastewater treatment.

At the working sessions of the monitoring team, many localities proposed that the city pay attention and soon have solutions to treat urban wastewater and protect the environment. Vice Chairman of Gia Vien Ward People's Committee Le Chuong suggested that the Department of Construction soon invest in a separate rainwater collection and drainage system from the wastewater collection and drainage system. Only then will domestic wastewater be collected by separate sewers to a centralized treatment area to ensure it meets environmental standards before being discharged into the receiving source.

Chairman of Le Chan Ward People's Committee Pham Van Tan proposed that the city speed up the implementation of phase 2 of Vinh Niem Wastewater Treatment Plant, which will contribute to increasing the rate of wastewater collection and treatment in the ward and city.

It is known that, previously, in the East of the city, the Department of Construction proposed that the city prioritize the implementation of 8 key projects on urban wastewater treatment in the period of 2025 - 2030. However, after the merger, the city is adjusting the general planning to suit the development in the new period, so the Department of Construction continues to research and propose that the city adjust and supplement the drainage and wastewater treatment planning accordingly. This is an important basis for the city to prioritize public investment capital allocation in the period of 2026 - 2030 or attract other resources to soon upgrade and build new centralized wastewater treatment plants.

Vice Chairman of the City People's Council Nguyen Khac Toan emphasized that the monitoring delegation not only recorded the current situation and the shortcomings that need to be resolved, but also fully synthesized the opinions and proposals of the locality and management units to advise the city to issue and implement practical and effective solutions in the coming time, contributing to building Hai Phong increasingly green, clean and beautiful.

BUI HUONG

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/dau-tu-ha-tang-xu-ly-nuoc-thai-theo-kip-do-thi-hoa-522159.html