HCM City needs an investment of VND495 billion (US$22.5 million) to build 27 environmental measurement systems and 200 semi-automatic environmental measurement points.

During a working session with the People's Council on Thursday, officials from the city's Department of Natural Resources and Environment said that environmental measurement systems in the city were out of date.

Nguyen Van Phuoc, director of the department, said that in order to guarantee environmental quality, 14 criteria should be met. However, due to the limited facility, the department has focused on four criteria including surface water, ground water, and air and environment quality near waste treatment areas.

"The system to treat wasted air has not met the standard as required," Phuoc said, adding nine automatic air measurement systems supported by Norwegian and Danish government in 2003.

Since 2012, the city has been using a semi-automatic measurement system in 16 locations around the city. However, measurement results have not been reliable.

Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, the chairwoman of HCM City's People's Council, said it was unacceptable to not provide environmental information to the public and to have such systems go unrepaired for the past five years.

The investment in new systems is necessary for the city's residents, Tam said. 

VNS