Construction of Nhiêu Lộc - Thị Nghè wastewater treatment plant in HCM City, the largest in Southeast Asia, is expected to be completed in mid-2025. — VNA/VNS Photo Tiến Lực

HCM CITY — Construction of the Nhiêu Lộc - Thị Nghè wastewater treatment plant project in HCM City, which will be the largest in Southeast Asia, is around 41 per cent complete and is expected to be put into use in June of next year.

The project’s investor, the city’s Urban Infrastructure Construction Investment Project Management Board, has recently announced that the project is one of eight component projects of the second phase of the city’s environmental sanitation project worth US$524 million.

The plant will treat wastewater that is currently being discharged untreated into the Sài Gòn River.

It uses advanced Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) technology, which is one of the most popular biological treatment methods.

The MBBR wastewater treatment method helps remove organic substances in wastewater.

In this method, the reactor is filled with thousands of biofilm carriers (plastic balls) that protect the bacteria used to break down pollutants in the wastewater. A diffuser grid produces the air required to effectively disperse the biofilm carriers throughout the basin, while also providing the necessary aeration for biofilm growth.

Once completed, the Nhiêu Lộc - Thị Nghè wastewater treatment plant can treat 480,000 cubic metres of wastewater per day.

The city now treats about 644,000 cu.m of wastewater per day, accounting for only 40 per cent of its daily wastewater discharge.

The new facility will raise the city’s daily wastewater treatment capacity to 1.1 million cu.m per day, or about 71 per cent of the daily wastewater discharge.

The second phase of the city’s environmental sanitation project began in 2025, aiming to complete the wastewater collection and treatment system for the entire Nhiêu Lộc - Thị Nghè area and former District 2.

The project will benefit some two million people in Thủ Đức City and districts 1, 3, 10, Phú Nhuận, Tân Bình, Bình Thạnh, and Gò Vấp.

It will also provide technical assistance to improve the city’s sanitation and wastewater management practices. — VNS