VietNamNet Bridge – Parks and verdure areas are described as the green lung in urban areas. Hai Phong City once programmed to set up a range of parks and trees in the two districts of Hong Bang and An Duong. However, the green lung project remains on paper for the last many years.

The urgent project…

In 2007, Hai Phong City People’s Committee released a decision to take back 14 hectares of land in Quan Toan commune of Hong Bang district and An Hong Commune of An Duong district for the project on building parks and flower gardens in the northern part of Hai Phong.

At that time, when the project was approved by the city’s authorities, in the area reserved for parks and verdure, there were only some operational steel laminating mills, including VPS, Vietnam-Japan and Vietnam-ROK, while others were still under construction.

Now, when the construction was completed, the steel mills have become operational and discharge black smoke every day, the project still has not been implemented yet. The sea city still does not have the green lung to breathe.

Bui Quang San, Director of the Hai Phong City Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, emphasized that the department understand the necessity of setting up a range of flower gardens, parks and verdure area in the key economic areas.

The verdure area would not only serve as the lung that provides fresh air to the city, but also as the wall to be installed to separate the industrial production area and residential quarters.

Therefore, the city’s authorities have urged relevant branches to kick off the project soon. The environment department has affirmed that it has worked out with Hong Bang and An Duong districts’ authorities on necessary things to be done.

Of the 14 hectares of land reserved for verdure, the range of trees separating the Cuu Long-Vinashin steel mill and the residential quarter in Quan Toan ward would be built up first.

Do Viet Hung, Chair of Quan Toan People’s Committee said all the 159 households in the district, who have been compensated for the site clearance, feel joyful when hearing about the verdure project. They have been very cooperative and constructive with the local authorities in order to help speed up the project implementation.

…remains half done

To date, the project that was believed to be fulfilled urgently remains on paper. Local residents have heard no further information about the project. No trees have been planted, while the money to compensate for the site clearance has not been delivered to people as committed.

Hung said that he cannot count how many meetings were gathered to discuss the project. Local residents have many times urged the city authorities to speed up the project. The district people’s committee has 14 times sent documents to competent agencies, asking to implement the project soon. However, only a general answer was given by the city’s authorities that “the project would be implemented at a reasonable time.”

While waiting for the project to be implemented, the area programmed for parks and verdure has become seriously polluted. This has become a big steel complex with the biggest production capacity in Vietnam. Besides, there are 50 mechanical engineering manufacturing and enterprises and shipbuilding yards. More and more industrial workshops have arisen in the area, turning it into an area with high risk of emission and noise.

The dust pollution monitoring report showed that the dust concentration in Quan Toan ward in 2010 and 2011 was higher by 1.06 times than the allowed level. Meanwhile, other indexes, including SO2, H2S and NOx, are higher by 12.8-23.5 times than the allowed levels.

This is believed to be the main reason behind the fact that teachers and students of a series of primary schools in Quan Toan locality felt dazzled and unconscious recently.

Source: Phap luat