HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng has asked people’s committees of localities at central levels to make plans to use ash and cinder for construction and other purposes.

The reuse of ash and cinder can help protect the environment and meet socio-economic development requirements, he said.

He urged ministries of industry and trade; natural resources and environment; construction; science and technology; and the People’s Committee of Bình Thuận Province to implement assigned tasks in order to process ash and cinder released by thermal power plants of the Vĩnh Tân Power Centre.

Earlier, the People’s Committee of Bình Thuận Province reported to the Prime Minister that the amount of ash and cinder from Vĩnh Tân 2 power plant is growing. The ash dump is overloaded, posing high risks of environmental incidents.

Vĩnh Tân Power Centre has five thermal power plants located in Bình Thuận Province’s Tuy Phong District.

According to the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Vĩnh Tân 2 and Vĩnh Tân 4 power plants share a slag dump which covers over 38ha and is able to contain 9.3 million cu.m of slag. The dump so far contains about 4.4 million cu.m. Each year, the Vĩnh Tân 2 power plant discharges 1.2 million cu.m.

It is forecast that the dump will be filled by next year.

To address the issue, Deputy Prime Minister Dũng asked relevant sectors and localities to use ash and cinder as construction materials.

The Ministry of Construction has been tasked with completing technical standards of using ash and cinder in construction and make road surfaces.

The Department of Industrial Safety and Environment under the Ministry of Industry and Trade estimated that the country’s thermal power plants generated up to 12.2 million tonnes of coal ash last year, while treating only four million tonnes, meaning inventory rose to 8.2 million tonnes.

The amended master plan for electricity development for the 2011-20 period with a vision to 2030 says that 52 coal-fired power plants will be in operation by 2030 with a total designed capacity of 52,252MW. So in the next few years, if no solutions are developed, the amount of ash could increase so much that there is no room for storage. — VNS