Billions of dollars needed to clear all bombs, mines left from wars
It could take 100 years to be free of explosives: official
Dong Nai needs VND50 billion for mine clearance

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Dung meets with Jan Erik Stoa, NPA Country Director in Vietnam.— Photo thuathienhue.gov.vn

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Dung made the statement after a recent working session with Jan Erik Stoa, NPA Country Director in Vietnam.

Since 2010, the NPA has provided Thua Thien-Hue more than VND64 billion (US$2.7 million) for humanitarian projects and those on post-war bomb and mine clearance, especially the 'Explosive Remnant of War Risk Reduction' project.

The organisation committed to continuing to grant VND14 billion to projects in 2018-2020, Dung stated.

Thua Thien - Hue is one of the provinces with the highest level of pollution by explosives in Vietnam, with more than 170,400ha or 35 per cent of the province's total area affected, mainly in A Luoi District. Since the war ended in 1975, 147 people in A Luoi have been killed by bombs and mines.

To date, the province has completed 13 projects on bomb and mine clearance and collected nearly 10,000 bombs, mines and explosive objects, helping restore the environment of more than 14,917ha of land.

The NPA, founded in 1939, is one of Norway’s largest non-governmental organisations and has been involved in mine clearance activities in Vietnam since 2008.

VNS