ĐÀ NẴNG — A section of Mỹ Khê Beach in the central city of Đà Nẵng, considered one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in Việt Nam, has been heavily polluted by untreated waste water illegally discharged from a construction project.

Deputy director of Đà Nẵng’s Department of Construction Lê Tùng Lâm said the 27-storey Royal Era 1 building had pumped waste water from its on-going excavation of basement floors into the city’s household waste water treatment system. However, the treatment system was overloaded with waste water discharged from the project, and could not treat the overflow.

The project investors, the TMS Hotel Đà Nẵng Joint Stock Company, and the building contractor Hồng Trí Việt Company connected the site with the city’s waste water discharge system without permission from the administration. “We stopped the project last Friday. Waste water from the project had spoiled the beach of Mỹ Khê through the Mỹ An discharge outlet,” Lâm said.

“The department, in co-operation with relevant agencies and the district of Ngũ Hành Sơn, will strictly supervise the project and the investors will only be allowed to discharge waste water from the construction site when they get approval from the city,” Lâm added.

He said the department asked the city’s natural resources and environment officials to inspect the illegal discharge of untreated waste water onto Đà Nẵng beaches.

The central city has been struggling against waste water discharge from industrial zones (IZs) and urban sites. According to the city’s Institute for Economic and Social Development, only 70 per cent of waste water from IZs is treated before being discharged into the environment, and even that is at level 1 (liquidation of organic matter).

Meanwhile, urban untreated sewage is still discharged directly into 28 lakes out of 30 in the city daily, while rain and untreated household waste water is collected in the same pipe and sewage system before flowing into the sea. Untreated sewage has also spoiled other beaches with waste water from households and seafood restaurants.

Đà Nẵng presented a US$115 million budget proposal, of which $100 million is to be funded by the World Bank, for upgrading waste water treatment stations, waste water drainage systems and drainage channels in the city.

The city’s 90km coastline has 11 public beaches. — VNS