ĐÀ NẴNG — The central city of Đà Nẵng has fined the Sao Vàng Nha Trang Joint Stock Company, the owner of the Sapphire Hotel project, VNĐ320 million (US$14,000) for not completing an environmental assessment plan before construction.

The city announced the fine in a statement on Wednesday, stating that the Sapphire Hotel project, which is under construction, was found discharging untreated waste water into the environment in August.

It said the project had illegally pumped waste water from its on-going excavation of basement floors into the city’s household waste water treatment system.

According to the city’s construction department, the treatment system was overloaded with waste water discharged from the project, and could not treat the overflow. A section of Mỹ Khê Beach was heavily polluted by illegally discharged waste from the hotel project.

The fine is the heaviest punishment for illegally discharging waste water into the environment so far this year.

The city has been investigating two more construction projects – the Việt Nam Holiday Company and the Sea Shore Hotel of Chinwin Company – in coastal Sơn Trà and Ngũ Hành Sơn districts for discharging untreated waste water into the city’s household sewage system.

The department asked all hotel and apartment project investors in coastal areas to develop an assessment of waste water before discharging it into the city’s sewage system.

According to the latest report by the construction department, seven out of 15 waste water pipes still discharge untreated household sewage into the sea in Đà Nẵng. Some beaches have been heavily polluted by untreated waste water from hundreds of seafood restaurants and construction sites along the coast.

The central city plans to build a waste water treatment project for cleaning the Mỹ An discharge outlet that has polluted a section of Mỹ Khê Beach in Ngũ Hành Sơn District. — VNS