VietNamNet Bridge - Multi-story buildings and apartment buildings are being built in Ha Long City in Quang Ninh City and many fear that the world heritage site Ha Long Bay could become polluted.

The Licogi 18.1 apartment block, put into operation four years ago, is located on an advantageous position, right on the shore of Ha Long Bay. It accommodates 120 families and comprises tens of offices for lease. 

The waste water drainage system of the building is designed in a ‘traditional way’, i.e. all the waste water from the families and offices there is gathered in an underground sewer, and flows to a septic bank before going directly to the sea.

Nguyen Ha Trang, a local resident, said: “We are proud of living on the shore of the beautiful Ha Long Bay. But we are disappointed about the environment problems."

“I enjoy walking on the pavement with my son, but we have to hurriedly walk across the apartment block’s sewer to avoid the bad odor,” she said.

In fact, there is a waste water treatment station build by Licogi Corporation in the area, just one kilometer east from the Licogi 18.1 apartment building. However, since 2009, the station has been idle for five years.

Multi-story buildings and apartment buildings are being built in Ha Long City in Quang Ninh City and many fear that the world heritage site Ha Long Bay could become polluted.

Nguyen Viet Dung from LMDN Licogi JSC, the contractor, said the station still cannot be handed over to the Ha Long City authorities because ‘there is still no waste water for the station to operate’.

The explanation surprised many people, because the area where the station is situated, has many houses and villas.

In fact, untreated waste water can be found in many other residential quarters in Ha Long City as well. An officer of the Ha Long Urban Environment Company revealed that the company has only implemented one contract on connecting a concentrated waste water treatment system with the sewer of one apartment building – Ha Long Center.

Ha Long City’s people fear that the situation would be even worse in the future when more and more apartment buildings are under construction.

The Thong Nhat 508 JSC, the investor of the apartment block in Tran Hung Dao Ward, has decided to resume the implementation of the project after leaving it idle for 10 years, stating that the construction would be completed by 2017. By that time, two 24-story towers will arise.

A local man said the families living near the residential quarter may suffer if the investor cannot have good solutions for waste water treatment.

Meanwhile, a series of other apartment blocks are under construction in the wards of Bai Chay, Hung Thang and Hon Gai, all of which would have more than 20 stories.

Dan Viet