Ho Chi Minh City inaugurated the expanded Binh Hung Wastewater Treatment Plant on Friday as part of Phase 2 of the city's water environment improvement project. This phase represents the most significant investment in the project, with a total cost of approximately VND11.3 trillion (US$453 million), funded by Japanese official development aid loans and Vietnam's counterpart funds.
Luong Minh Phuc, director of the city's Management Board of Traffic Works Construction and Investment, which oversees the project, stated that the completion of Phase 2 has increased the plant's treatment capacity by 328,000 cubic meters per day, compared to Phase 1. The expanded plant now serves a basin area of over 2,500 hectares, catering to approximately 1.8 million people.
Wastewater from Districts 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, and Binh Chanh is collected and conveyed through a system of interceptor sewers to the Dong Dieu pumping station in District 8. At this station, wastewater undergoes preliminary treatment to remove sand and debris before being pumped through pipelines to the Binh Hung plant for further treatment. The treated water is then discharged into the environment.
The project plays a crucial role in reducing environmental pollution in the basin of the Tau Hu - Ben Nghe - Doi - Te canal system, which runs through Districts 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 11, from downtown to suburban areas.
The sedimentation basin collects wastewater from the sewer system, where it is preliminarily filtered before being transferred to other treatment tanks. The plant uses biological processes, rather than chemicals, to treat the water.
The plant's advanced infrastructure includes underground systems such as an air supply pipeline at a depth of seven meters, with a diameter of about two meters.
The inlet pump system on the ground receives wastewater and pumps it into the treatment tanks for processing.
The control center is equipped with monitoring screens that track the pumping process and the operation of equipment, as well as a display area showing the status of various stages in the wastewater treatment process.
The control center also has a display area indicating the operational status of the various stages in the wastewater treatment process.
An aerial view of the Binh Hung Wastewater Treatment Plant shows it located on an isolated 42-hectare islet, separated from surrounding residential areas.
Following the completion of Phase 2, one final phase remains, which involves expanding the wastewater treatment coverage by approximately 1,600 hectares to include Districts 7, 8, and Nha Be, serving another 900,000 people. Once this phase is completed, all domestic wastewater from the Tau Hu - Ben Nghe - Doi - Te canal basin will be collected and treated to meet environmental standards before being discharged.
In addition to the Binh Hung Wastewater Treatment Plant, Ho Chi Minh City has two other plants: Tham Luong - Ben Cat (with a capacity of 131,000 cubic meters) and Binh Hung Hoa (30,000 cubic meters). Currently, the city's total capacity for treating urban domestic wastewater only reaches about 40% of the daily wastewater volume. The Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe Wastewater Treatment Plant, located in Thanh My Loi Ward, Thu Duc City, with a capacity of 480,000 cubic meters per day, is currently under construction.
