As Lao Dong has reported, the situation of wood chips falling continues to occur along the roads from Tinh Yeu Bridge, Bup Se Bridge to Cai Lan Port, affecting vehicles in circulation and causing environmental pollution.
On November 3, according to the reporter's observation at the entrance to Cai Lan port, there was a dense amount of wood chips scattered on both sides of the road, some vehicles did not cover with tarpaulins, and did not clean the containers after loading and unloading.
Ms. Tran Thi Nham - owner of a coffee shop at the entrance to Cai Lan Industrial Park - reflected: "Although there are people cleaning the road, due to the dense traffic of wood chip trucks, the wood chips fall onto the road, bringing dust into the shop, forcing me to clean continuously. The dust from the wood chips is very unpleasant, causing nasal congestion."
Speaking with Lao Dong, a leader of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ha Long City said: Immediately after receiving feedback from the people and the press, the authorities took action.
Through patrol and control, 4 vehicles transporting wood chips without tarpaulin were discovered and handled.
For businesses that violate or do not comply with regulations on traffic safety and environmental protection, the department will advise the People's Committee of Ha Long City to suspend the operations of the violating businesses.
Since the beginning of the year, the Traffic Police Department (Ha Long City Police) has fined 86 cases of vehicles transporting wood chips that spilled, violating regulations such as exceeding the height and speeding. The total fine amounted to 258 million VND.
There are currently 24 wood chip production, gathering and trading establishments in Ha Long City. Since 2023, the city has continuously held meetings to find solutions to thoroughly handle the situation of wood chip trading affecting the environment.
Authorities have administratively sanctioned 7 entities for violating environmental regulations, filed administrative cases against enterprises using land for improper purposes, proposed terminating the operations of enterprises whose projects had expired, and relocated wood chip gathering facilities that were not in accordance with planning.
Ms. Pham Thi Xuan - representative of Thai Hung Port Joint Stock Company (member of Ha Long Wood Chip Association) - said that Cai Lan port currently has about 16 wood chip exporting enterprises. In the first 9 months of 2024, enterprises exported about 2.8 million tons of dry chips, expected to reach 3.5 million tons by the end of the year.
Wood chip enterprises at the port have paid environmental sanitation fees of 500 VND/ton of fresh chips, totaling 1.3 billion VND, of which 1.1 billion VND has been collected.
According to Ms. Xuan, to clean up wood chips, the unit has contracted with a business to clean daily within the industrial park, Cai Lan seaport and increase from Bup Se bridge, Tinh Yeu bridge back to the port, but the results are not as expected.
"We are committed to making improvements to ensure environmental sanitation within the industrial park. The association has agreed with the owners of the docks and wood chip yards to take responsibility for cleaning up the areas they manage and ensuring environmental sanitation on the sidewalks of the surrounding roads," said Ms. Xuan. "However, in reality, vehicles entering the area to deliver goods are parked on both sides of the road, making it very difficult for environmental workers to clean up.
Ha Long Wood Chip Association also proposed that the city clearly define the traffic boundary of Cai Lan port, exempting vehicles transporting wood chips within industrial parks and ports from covering with tarpaulins to facilitate production activities.
