On the morning of April 20th, 2019, the Air Defence and Air Force of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) jointly held the launching ceremony of the Dioxin Treatment Project at Bien Hoa Airport (Dong Nai Province) - the largest Dioxin hot spot in Vietnam.
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| Mr. Truong Hoa Binh |
Attending the ceremony, on the Vietnamese side, were Mr. Truong Hoa Binh, Member of the Politburo, Standing Deputy Prime Minister of the Vietnam’s Government; Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, Member of the Party Central Committee, Standing Member of the Central Military Commission, Deputy Minister of National Defence, Head of the Standing Committee of the National Steering Committee on the settlement of post-war unexploded ordnance and toxic chemical consequences in Vietnam (Steering Committee 701); Senior Lieutenant General Pham Ngoc Minh, Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Vietnam People\'s Army; Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh, President of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA); leaders of ministries, central commissions, sectors and Dong Nai Province. On the US side, there were Senator Patrick Leahy, Vice Chairman of the US Senate Committee on Appropriations, Head and members of the US Senate Delegation visiting Vietnam; Mr. Daniel J. Kritenbrink, the US Ambassador to Vietnam and Mr. Michael Greene, Director of USAID in Vietnam. Addressing at the ceremony, Standing Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh highly appreciated the great efforts made by Vietnamese authorities in coordinating with the US authorities for the launch of the project. This is an important event in the cooperation between Vietnam and the United States on remedying the toxic chemical/Dioxin. The Deputy Prime Minister expressed his deep gratitude to the US Congress, Government, and people, especially the US Senator Patrick Leahy, who has devoted tens of years and his enthusiasm to mobilise and foster coordination between parties for the implementation of the project. At the same time, he also expressed his hope that Senator Patrick Leahy, with his important role, will continue to support and lobby the US Congress, Government and people to strengthen cooperation and carry out more projects to meet the legitimate needs of Vietnamese people for the mutual benefit of the two countries, contributing to promoting the Vietnam – US comprehensive partnership in the coming time. The Dioxin treatment project at Bien Hoa Airport is one of the world\'s largest projects of such kind. According to the estimates of Vietnam and the US, the cost of Dioxin treatment at Bien Hoa Airport mounts up to over 390 million USD depending on the level, treating requirements and land use planning.
Vu Nguyen
| In 2016, USAID cooperated with the authorities of the Government of Vietnam to complete the assessment of Dioxin contamination at Bien Hoa Airport - the main area of Dioxin storage and extraction during Vietnam War. According to the evaluation results, the amount of soil and sediment contaminated with dioxin needs to be treated is more than 500,000 m³, covering an area of 52.24 hectares which is about four times higher than the volume treated at Danang Airport and this is the largest Dioxin hot spot in Vietnam. Following the assessment, USAID signed agreements with the Ministry of National Defence of Vietnam in early 2018 for the five-year first phase with a committed budget of 183 million USD for the Dioxin treatment project at Bien Hoa Airport, which will focus on Dioxin decontamination in the high-risk areas for an anticipated period of 10 years with the treatment and isolation methods used at Danang Airport. |
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