A worker collects garbage from a COVID-19 quarantine facility in HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Giang

HCM CITY — The HCM City Department of Natural Resources and Environment targets increasing the volume of domestic waste treated with incineration and recycling technologies to at least 80 per cent by 2025 and 100 per cent by 2030, department director Nguyễn Toàn Thắng has said.

The department will pay special attention to treatment of all industrial waste and medical waste. It is continuing to invite qualified and experienced investors to invest in renovation projects for two landfill sites, Gò Cát in Bình Tân District and Đông Thạnh in Hóc Môn District.

More than 10 units have submitted applications to turn the two landfill sites into public parks and eco-tourism areas.

The renovation projects will create a "clean" (no buildings or infrastructure) land fund to form a new urban area or build a new power-generating incineration plant.

The department will propose a plan on curbing pollution at the two landfills while waiting for adjustments to plans for the two projects.

It is also speeding up support for private garbage collectors to help transform their operating model into a cooperative or an enterprise with legal status.

So far, nearly 93 per cent of private garbage collectors in the city have shifted to cooperative or enterprise status.

Authorities in districts and Thủ Đức City are encouraging more than 84 private garbage collectors to join cooperatives or enterprises.

The approved project on development of the city's environmental quality monitoring network to 2020, with a vision to 2030, has not been implemented due to lack of funding.

The project calls for automatic environment monitoring stations to provide timely alerts, environmental quality forecasts and other information for the public.

The department has asked the People’s Committee to approve the adjustment of the project’s investment policy for the 2021-2025 period, with total investment capital estimated at VNĐ495 billion (US$21.7 million).

Administrative reform

Besides improving environmental quality, the department will continue administrative reform to speed up the issuance of certificates for land-use rights and house ownership, and conduct land auctions.

To ensure safety, flexibility and effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic towards economic recovery in the post-pandemic period, the department has received dossiers and has returned results via email since mid-November.

Within one to three working days after receiving the dossier, its one-stop-shop returns results to businesses or residents.

“Processing dossiers online helps to reduce the travel time for local residents and businesses, and helps COVID prevention,” Thắng said.

The department is simplifying more 51 administrative procedures, meeting the demand of public services provided at levels 3 and 4.

All administrative procedures have been uploaded on the department’s website www.donre.hochiminhcity.gov.vn.

The department has granted 359,495 land-use right certificates this year, including more than 5,400 certificates issued for the first time.

Next year, it targets processing about 400,000 applications for security transaction registration, among others.

It will speed up the issuance of certificates for home buyers in residential projects with about 20,000 applications, and continue to auction land plots in the Thủ Thiêm new urban area in Thủ Đức City.

It has asked the municipal People’s Committee to approve shortening the processing time for 13 land-use registration and related administrative procedures.

It has also asked the committee to allocate VNĐ69.6 billion ($3 million) to invest in three projects under the smart-city programme on infrastructure, digitisation, and quality of public services for local residents. — VNS