Vietnamlawmagazine

Recent serious violations of environmental laws by several major businesses without strict punishment are giving rise to worries that the country is paying a heavy price for its economic development.

The most recent case involved one of Vietnam’s largest shipbuilders, Hyundai Vinashin, which was caught dumping hazardous wastes near a residential area in Khanh Hoa central province.

Four trucks contracted by Hyundai Vinashin carrying more than 60 tons of wastes were stopped by local environment police on July 8 when they were about to dump the wastes to a residential area in Ninh Diem commune, Ninh Hoa district. The trucks were ordered to come back to the shipyard where another truck was about to leave.

The shipyard, a joint venture set up in 1999 in Khanh Hoa between South Korea’s Hyundai Group and Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin), would face strict punishment and might even have its license withdrawn once violations were found, Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) Minister Pham Khoi Nguyen told the Saigon Giai Phong (Liberated Saigon) daily on July 14.

It was unacceptable to turn Vietnam into a waste dumping place in general and for foreign ships in particular, the Minister stressed, saying the Ministry would be tough in handling the case. However, it would need further investigation to identify responsibilities of Hyundai Vinashin and the business hired to dispose of the wastes, the minister said.

The wastes, which came from an old floating dock delivered to the shipyard for repair by Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines), were toxic according to test results by Khanh Hoa Natural Resources and Environment Service, the Tuoi Tre (Youth) daily reported.

Hyundai Vinashin’s waste incident was exposed when the shipyard had not paid its “debt” of treating a huge volume of nix (copper slag) waste generated from its ship repair operations, the Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.

In October last year, the Government gave the shipbuilder a three-year deadline to dispose of 700,000 tons of nix waste which seriously polluted the local environment and adversely affected people’s health.

In late 2007, Hyundai Vinashin announced that it was building a nix waste processing complex and would switch to new building rather than repair operations. However, the nix processing project was still awaiting construction by a contractor from Hanoi.

Since its operation, Hyundai Vinashin had failed to observe the environment law and was on the list of seriously polluting businesses under Prime Minister Decision No. 64 issued in April 2003, said Deputy Minister of NRE Tran Hong Ha.