Hanoi’s biggest landfill reopens as compensation talks resume

Residents of Nam Son and Hong Ky communes have removed tents, tables and chairs to allow vehicles to enter the landfill, said Vu Cuong, deputy director of the Hanoi Urban Environment Company (Urenco 7).

Since last Sunday, roads leading to the waste treatment site in Soc Son District, 25 km north of the city's center, had been blocked by the locals, protesting inadequate compensation and resettlement delays. The protest left garbage laden pushcarts stranded across the city.

The accumulated trash resulting from the protest should be cleaned up by Sunday, Cuong said.

City and district authorities managed to convince citizens to remove the roadblocks following dialogues Friday morning, said Nguyen Cong Hung, deputy chairman of the Hong Ky Commune People’s Committee.

Locals have not accepted proposed compensation and resettlement plans for people living within 500 meters of the Nam Son waste treatment complex, most affected by the pollution and odor it causes. They said the compensation offered for their agricultural and residential land was much lower than the price for resettlement land.

They wanted authorities to reconsider how they determine the location for reclaimed and resettlement land as well as compensation for properties affected by the resettlement to ensure people’s benefits.

Dao Duc Toan, Hanoi Deputy Party Secretary, has asked Soc Son District authorities to gather all requests from the people and inform the municipal People’s Committee for resolution. The city already has all the necessary procedures and policies to carry out the compensation and resettlement plans, but there were still delays in the process, he added.

The residents had blocked garbage trucks on three different occasions last year, resulting in thousands of tons of garbage piling up along streets in the capital city.

The Nam Son waste treatment complex, spanning over 157 ha, was built in 1999 in the Nam Son, Bac Son and Hong Ky communes. The complex receives around 5,000 of the 6,500 tons the city generates each day. The other 1,500 tons are transported to the Xuan Son landfill in Son Tay Town and other small waste treatment facilities.