Environmental authorities in Vietnam are likely to allow a large amount of marine sediment to be discarded at sea after it is excavated during the construction of a new port terminal in the country’s middle region.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has approved an environmental impact assessment report which says around 19.3 million cubic meters of dredging material at the under-construction port in Quang Ngai Province needs to be disposed of at sea, according to a source close to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

The report was submitted by Hoa Phat Group, the developer of a vast 366-hectare steel and cast-iron manufacturing complex currently under construction at the nearby Dung Quoc Economic Zone.

The sea terminal is part of the complex.

The environment ministry has also required that the quantity be reduced to 15.3 million cubic meters, enough to fill a one-kilometer-tall building with a floor as large as two football stadiums.

The waste is expected to be dumped nearly seven kilometers from the coast, the report said.

The dredging is to ensure sufficient depth for container ships not to run aground when attempting to enter the port in the Hoa Phat complex.   

Support for the plan does not necessarily mean that sediment will be immediately jettisoned offshore because the company in charge of the removal must still obtain a government permit.

The ministry required the firm to give water turbidity and vessels carrying the material around-the-clock monitoring.

A boat runs in the waters where removed sea sediment is expected to be dumped, off the coast of Quang Ngai Province, central Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre

It also asked the company to keep track of marine biodiversity on the sea floor around the dumpsite once a week and check the quality of the sea water every month during the disposal and three months once it is completed.

The ministry stressed that dumping the dirt must be promptly ceased if the readings taken go beyond the acceptable figures for ecological impact at the site.

The dredging of rivers near the new port reportedly brought problems for local residents in early November.

About a dozen residents congregated near the area holding a banner that demanded the management cease removing sediment, claiming it caused mass deaths to their farmed fish.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!