Nguyễn Thiện Nhân, secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, instructs the city to make a plan for treatment of garbage buried in landfills. VNS/Photo.Gia Lộc

HCM CITY— HCM City plans to treat garbage buried at three non-active landfills, the city's People’s Committee has said.

Speaking at a meeting on Saturday, Võ Văn Hoan, its vice chairman, said the city would also make urban development plans at these sites and nearby areas.

City authorities have changed their mindset about waste treatment in recent years, he said.

“In the past, we only thought about burying garbage. But we can now generate economic benefit from garbage buried at the landfills," Hoan said.

Investors could earn money from treating the garbage and use the land to develop housing, golf courses and parks, he said.

Eight companies have expressed interest in exploiting Đông Thạnh landfill and Gò Cát landfill.  

The three landfills that have run out of space, Đông Thạnh in Hóc Môn District, Gò Cát in Bình Tân and Phước Hiệp in Củ Chi District, cover a total area of ​​ 118ha.

They contain nearly 22 million tonnes of buried garbage.

Đông Thạnh uses a leachate treatment system but does not have a system for collecting gas from the garbage while the other two do.

Hoan said the Departments of Natural Resources and Environment, and Planning and Investment have been instructed to draw up criteria for investment in treating landfill.

Investors could work along with city authorities to make urban development plans for these sites, which would be developed through public-private partnerships, he added.

Nguyễn Thiện Nhân, secretary of the city Party Committee, said the investors should bring in all the money required since the city would not.

They should ensure there is no environment pollution during the treatment of the landfill, he warned.

He instructed relevant agencies to finalise the bidding criteria within the next three months.

The city needs to be apprised about what technologies would be used and how much time and money the treatment would take, he added.

Nguyễn Công Hồng, general director of TDH Ecoland Urban Development and Investment Joint Stock Company, said he went to Gò Cát and Đông Thạnh landfills to survey them.

His company has experience treating buried garbage at the Soi Nam landfill in the northern province of Hải Dương, and would complete treatment of the garbage at the Gò Cát landfill within two years, he said.

After that it would take one more year to develop it into a residential area, he added.

The city will complete two plants to generate energy from garbage in September and October this year. They would help resolve 70-80 per cent of the city’s waste problem by 2025.

The city generates nearly 9,000 tonnes of garbage daily, most of which continues to go to landfills.

Nhân said the city needs a comprehensive plan for garbage treatment to reduce pollution and have more land for development. VNS