Saigon Tobacco Company in HCMC’s District 5 as one of the seven black-listed manufacturing polluters in inner-city areas will move to the outskirts this month while two more on the list are also preparing their relocation plans, an official said.
“After all, Saigon Tobacco Company has promised to completely relocate all of its production activities to Vinh Loc Industrial Park in Binh Chanh District this month,” said Cao Tung Son of the HCMC Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
Son, deputy director of the department’s Environment Management Office, told the Daily on Tuesday that Saigon Tobacco was among seven enterprises in inner-city areas that have been told to relocate production as they did not have viable solutions to treat waste. For years, these enterprises have been causing serious environmental pollution threatening the livelihood of nearby residential areas.
Some other polluting manufacturers are also making headway in relocating their production workshops, Son said, citing Posvina and Ba Son Shipyard.
Posvina Co. Ltd. in District 9 has readied its plan to move production to Nhon Trach Industrial Park in Dong Nai Province, and the relocation will be wholly completed in 2012. Meanwhile, Ba Son Shipyard also said it would relocate its shipyard to Cai Mep Port in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.
Other black-listed industrial polluters are Ha Tien 1 Cement Factory, Viet Thang Jean Company Limited, Vinh Hoi Tobacco Company, and Saigon Beer Company. Some have already pledged to have proper investments for building wastewater and smoke treatment systems to avoid causing environment pollution.
Son said measures would be taken to cope with stubborn violators.
“Within this month, the department will petition the city government for prompt relocation of the Ha Tien 1 Cement Factory because the factory causes severe air pollution for surrounding places,” he said.
In 2003, the Government approved a program to deal with some 440 heavy environment polluters around the country, including 284 manufacturers, 52 dumpsites, 84 hospitals, and 15 depots for storing chemicals for plant protection. At the time, the city had 37 enterprises in the black list, including the seven above-mentioned enterprises.