The Ministry of Defence on September 16 launched the construction of infrastructure to address dioxin contamination at Bien Hoa Airport in Bien Hoa city, the southern province of Dong Nai.

Dioxin contaminated areas at Bien Hoa Airport in Bien Hoa city, Dong Nai province. 

The project has total investment of 270 billion VND (11.8 million USD) from the State budget.

Key facilities include disarming war-time mines and bombs, building roads, zoning off dioxin contaminated areas and removing organisations and military works from the new detected squalid regions.  

Speaking at the launching, Deputy Minister of Defence Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh said that the project shows Vietnamese Government’s efforts in tackling post-war bombs and mines as well as toxic chemicals in hot spots.

Once completed, it will help officials, soldiers and local people reduce their exposure to detrimental dioxin, he highlighted.  

The move is a technical infrastructure preparation for a dioxin treatment project worth 500 million USD in non-refundable official development assistance from the US and other partners. Construction of the dioxin treatment project will begin latter this year, he added.

Bien Hoa Airport is considered as one of the dioxin hot spots in the country due to its high level of the chemical. According to assessments from Vietnam and the US, some 500,000 cubic metres of dioxin contaminated land in the airport need to be treated, requiring a large amount of capital and technology.

VNA