Only waste treatment plant in Vietnam’s Ca Mau shuts down, forcing temporary landfill use

A representative from the Ca Mau Department of Agriculture and Environment stated that the Ca Mau waste treatment plant has temporarily ceased operations because the proposed new waste treatment fee has not yet been approved.

The operating company, Cong Ly Construction - Trading - Tourism Co. Ltd., put forward a new fee of VND478,000 (US$18.3) per metric ton.

Although the appraisal council deemed the proposed price reasonable, the company’s documentation lacked legal grounds, rendering it ineligible for submission to the provincial administration.

"We have repeatedly requested the company to complete the required documents, but they remain incomplete," the official said.

While waiting for the procedures to be completed, the province has activated a temporary landfill system.

The provincial center for irrigation works management has been assigned to operate two burial pits to temporarily handle waste from the inner city area of the former Ca Mau City and Dam Doi District for the next six months.

Vietnam eliminated the district-level administrative unit nationwide starting July 1 and restructured local administrations into a two-tiered system, including provinces/cities and wards/communes.

Another pit is also being prepared to handle waste disposal for approximately one year.

In other areas, household waste will be processed on-site or transported to temporary landfills.

In particular, waste from the former Phu Tan, Nam Can, and Ngoc Hien Districts will be sent to a disposal site in Phan Ngoc Hien Commune.

For a long-term solution, the province is reviewing plans to establish a 50-hectare landfill site in Khanh An Commune, a 20-hectare site in Lam Hai Commune, and another 20-hectare site in Tan Thuan Commune.

Authorities are also seeking investors to build an additional waste treatment plant to reduce reliance on a single facility.