THÁI BÌNH — Only two of 28 industrial complexes in the northern province of Thái Bình have wastewater treatment systems, according to the province’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

There are 51 companies in the Phong Phú Industrial Complex in Thái Bình City but only 38 of them have wastewater collected and treated at the wastewater treatment plant located in Nguyễn Đức Cảnh Industrial Zone.

The other wastewater treatment system is for the Thái Phương Trade Village industrial complex in Hưng Hà District. The system was designed in 2013 to deal with 800cu.m of wastewater per day, however it has not been operational yet because the rules for the system operation have not been completed.

This means almost all producers, traders and service providers in industrial complexes in the province discharge and treat wastewater by themselves.

Some have speculated that they hesitate to release wastewater into concentrated wastewater treatment systems to avoid calculating the volume of discharge, which is used to determine environmental taxes.

Meanwhile, since 2014, Thái Bình Province People’s Committee has offered incentives to attract investors to wastewater treatment projects in industrial complexes and zones.

The province offers to pay for half of the cost of such projects, to a maximum of VNĐ17 billion (US$730,000), depending on the size of the facility.

Investors who get loans for the investment will be assisted 50 per cent of interest rate for two years but the assistance must be less than VNĐ3 billion.

According to province’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment, it recommended districts, Thái Bình City and Thái Bình Province’s People’s Committee offer more incentives to attract investors.

The province plans to have 50 industrial complexes by 2020. — VNS