The administration of the central city of Da Nang has ordered suspension of the operations of two local steel mills over their polluting activities.

The decision, announced during the municipal leaders’ meeting on Friday, won the public as authorities had also considered resettlement for households residing in the factories’ neighboring areas instead of asking the facilities to shut down.

The steel plants in question, Dana-Italy and Dana-Australia, both located in Hoa Lien Commune, Hoa Vang District, were forced to stop all environmental pollution-causing production activities right from Friday.

Local residents are seen at the meeting on March 2, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The plants are still allowed to continue other transport, import-export and administrative activities, under the condition that the time, types of vehicle and number of people involved in these processes be reported to the Hoa Lien administration for supervision.

As the shutdown option was adopted, the Da Nang administration cancelled its plan on relocating residents living near the polluting facilities.

The decision came after a number of complaints from locals that Dana-Italy and Dana-Australia steel factories had the local landscape and people’s lives with their operations.

The plants were asked to suspend operations from February 28, after a dialogue between the municipal administration with local residents, prior to Friday’s order to officially shut down.

Nguyen Thanh Tien, deputy head of the secretariat of the Da Nang administration, announces the decision at the meeting on March 2, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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