The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), the investor of Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam, has been fined VND270 million (US$11,580) over dust pollution during the execution of the project.

Inspectors of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment also asked the ACV to take measures to limit dust from the construction of the airport.  

The ACV has promptly built neither temporary reservoirs to store rainwater nor a rainwater drainage system during the construction process, according to the ministry.

It also failed to spray water adequately and regularly during the leveling of the site, thus paving the way for dust to spread to the surrounding area.

The dust content at the construction site is 5-10 times higher than the permitted level.

Long Thanh International Airport is a national key project and its progress should be accelerated, so inspectors of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment did not suspend the project.

The suspension will not reduce the dust pollution but increase the pollution risk from the 2,500-hectare leveled site.

Earlier, thousands of households living near the construction site complained they had been hit by ‘dust storms’ from the project over the past several months.

Thousands of houses, eateries, schools, roads, and trees in the area had been blanketed with dust, and many senior citizens and children have been diagnosed with respiratory diseases.

Many foreign direct investment enterprises in a nearby industrial park also complained about dust, saying that it has affected their products and workers’ health.

In response, contractors of the project have built 10 reservoirs and mobilized nearly 60 water tank trucks to spray water on the site in order to reduce dust.

The ACV has also dispatched fire trucks to the site to spray water.

It pledged to provide VND300 million ($12,867) to install air conditioners at some schools near the project.

The airport project, which carries an estimated price tag of VND336.63 trillion ($14.4 billion), will have an annual capacity of 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of cargo. 

Once in place, it will be the largest airport in the nation.

It got off the ground in 2021 and is expected to ease pressure on the overcrowded Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

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