The Ministry of Finance has asked the Ministry of Transport not to grant business licences to shipping lines that transport scrap that includes waste and pollutants to Viet Nam.

Imported scrap containing waste at Hai Phong Port. — Photo tuoitre.vn

The move follows the Prime Minister’s instruction on urgent efforts to manage the import and use of scrap as a material for production.

In the instruction, the PM ordered a ban on the import of scrap that contains waste.

According to the instruction, the shipping lines that transport waste and pollutants must be held responsible for transporting the goods out of Vietnamese territory.

As of September this year, more than 15,000 imported scrap containers remained at Cat Lai, Hai Phong and Cai Mep ports, according to Viet Nam Customs.

Nearly 5,000 containers have remained for over 90 days at Cat Lai Port, 2,700 of which contain waste. The customs agency identified 2,500 containers that are unaccounted for. — VNS