A makeshift tent was set up on Monday to prevent garbage trucks entering Nam Sơn Dumping ground in Hà Nội's Sóc Sơn District. — VNA/VNS Photo Mạnh Khánh

HÀ NỘI — A crowd of 15-20 people in two communes of Nam Sơn and Hồng Kì in Hà Nội’ Sóc Sơn District on Monday night made makeshift tents, blocking the way to the Nam Sơn Waste Treatment Complex or Nam Sơn dumping ground.

Leaders of the district's People’s Committee confirmed the incident to Vietnam News Agency on Monday night, adding that local authorities were calling on local residents to calm down and stop the protest so the transportation of garbage to the landfill would not be interrupted.

Last year, several similar protests blocking the way to the landfill happened due to environmental pollution and compensation to people living around the landfill.

Set up in 1999, the Nam Sơn dumping ground, covering an area of 157ha in three communes of Nam Sơn, Bắc Sơn and Hồng Kì, receives more than 4,000 tonnes of waste per day from four Hà Nội inner districts.

In 2017, the first industrial waste-to-energy facility with the capacity of treating 75 tonnes of toxic and industrial waste per day in Nam Sơn Waste Treatment Complex was inaugurated with help from Japan.

The generated power is used for the factory’s own production activities and for the national power grid’s electricity supply.

Some dumping areas in the landfill were at full capacity.

Among measures to address the environmental pollution at the landfill and surrounding residential areas, Hà Nội People’s Committee decided to move all people out of the area within a radius of 500m around the landfill and to grow trees as a green corridor. The activities were planned to be implemented this year and next year.

Since July 2, 2019, Sóc Sơn District People’s Committee has assisted affected households to move and paid them compensation.

Accordingly, 1,100 households in the three communes would move out of the total area of about 396ha around the landfill. Compensation is estimated to cost about VNĐ3.4 trillion (US$146.7 million).

However, affected households have not been satisfied with compensation rates imposed on their land and assets. They also asked for more detailed information about land clearance schemes and housing prices in relocation areas.

According to the district People’s Committee, relevant agencies are looking for households’ opinions, identifying causes of the protest to address properly.

Meanwhile, as the way to the landfill is blocked, garbage trucks cannot enter the landfill.

To avoid the build-up of garbage in residential areas, especially in four inner districts of Hà Nội – which were seen in previous protests last year, the city’s Construction Department directed relevant agencies to transport garbage to Xuân Sơn Landfill in Sơn Tây Town.

Collected waste would be kept on trucks or carried to smaller dumping sites around the city. The waste would be carried to the Nam Sơn dumping ground when the protest is over. — VNS