Overcoming numerous difficulties and challenges, Phu Son Waste-to-Power Plant in Thua Thien Hue province, invested by EB Environmental Energy (Thua Thien Hue) Co., Ltd (a wholly owned subsidiary of China Everbright Environment Group Limited), completed 100% of progress in August 2023 and is carrying out procedures to start official operations. This is the largest municipal solid waste treatment plant in the province to date. Once operating, it will reduce solid waste landfills to below 20%, meeting the Prime Minister's requirements in Directive 41/CT-TTg, helping create a clean - beautiful - spacious and modern appearance of Hue City.
The Phu Son Waste-to-Energy Plant is a key initiative in addressing the environmental challenges posed by traditional landfilling methods
Key environmental project
Started to be built in late 2021 at an estimated cost of nearly VND1,700 billion, Phu Son Waste-to-Power Plant is located on a 11.234-ha site in Phu Son commune, Huong Thuy town, consisting of a fly ash landfill, power generators and other auxiliary works. The facility is applied with the BOO operating model, with a lifespan of 25 years (including construction time and operation time). The project can treat 600 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) and generate 12MWh of green energy a day or about 220,000 tons of MSW and 93 million kWh of green electricity a year.
Mr. Ding Zhiguang, General Director of EB Environmental Energy (Thua Thien Hue) Co., Ltd, said: Phu Son Waste-to-Power Plant is the second industrial chain environmental protection project invested and built by China Everbright Environment Group Limited in Vietnam. Core technology and equipment applied are all self-invented and researched by Everbright Environment and all processes and technologies meet Vietnam's environmental regulations and standards. Exhaust emission norms all meet Vietnamese QCVN 61-MT/2016/ BTNMT standards and EU 2010 standards. The landfill rate of unusable fly ash and slag is less than 7%.
The project has already been completed and is conducting necessary procedures for being in operation. Once operating, the plant will ease pollution and re-pollution caused by landfilling, and most urgently, when landfills are almost running out of capacity. The project will reduce the rate of municipal solid waste landfilling to less than 20% and meet the Prime Minister's requirements in Directive 41/CT-TTg, thus easing environmental protection in Hue City.
Helping develop a green and sustainable Hue City
Vietnam is setting goals to increase electricity output to ensure energy security and develop green, sustainable economy. The harmless treatment of waste resources is an urgent need of the government. As a famous tourist city of Vietnam, with a long history and unique culture, the resolution of the 16th Provincial Congress and the Thua Thien Hue Provincial Planning for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050, underlines requirements to reduce urban pollution, improve a friendly living environment and build a “greener - cleaner - brighter” city.
Adhering to these requirements, Phu Son Waste-to-Power Plant is one of the first projects in the locality to bring advanced technology to treat municipal solid waste into a new environmentally friendly energy source. At the same time, the project also helps Hue City access effective treatment technology to reduce pollution and improve the living environment, ensuring sustainable development in accordance with the city’s general planning on municipal solid waste to 2030, with a vision to 2050.
“The plant greatly helps solve environmental pollution from waste, ensure urban hygiene and safety in the former capital city. Furthermore, the project is also a place for environmental education, environmental protection culture, and green eco-tourism zone,” he emphasized.
Accordingly, treated leachate is reused for the plant’s operations and is not discharged into the environment. Remnant ash and slag generated by waste incineration is pre-processed and processed in the storage area and then transferred to competent units to be processed or used as raw materials for producing construction and ground-leveling materials.
Remarking on the local investment environment, Mr. Ding Zhiguang said: Thua Thien Hue attaches great importance to investment promotion, environmental protection and business development. In 2021, the province led the country in the Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI). When it carried out the project, the company received effective support from competent agencies, especially amid a lot of difficulties like the epidemic, weather, transportation and logistics, and labor shortages.
Thua Thien Hue, located in the central key economic region, has various advantages such as Phu Bai international airport, Chan May deep water port, world cultural heritage areas and a lot of potential and opportunities for investment attraction, he said. Hopefully, in the coming time, the province will continue to create a transparent and fair investment environment, build more attractive investment policies, and create favorable conditions for businesses and investors, thus enabling businesses, including EB Environmental Energy (Thua Thien Hue) Co., Ltd, to join hands to build an increasingly developed Hue City, make it a centrally run city with a civilized and modern appearance.
By Le Nam, Vietnam Business Forum