Hanoi, RoK cooperate in facilitating Nam Son waste-to-energy project

Hanoi and ROK partners reach a deal to facilitate the operation of Nam Son waste-to-energy project, Hanoi on September 11

On September 11, Hanoi Urban Environment Company (URENCO), T&T Group and three leading RoK companies in waste treatment and construction, namely Sudokwon Landfill Management Corporation, Korea Engineering Consultants Corporation and Samyoung Plant Co. Ltd., signed an agreement to implement the aforementioned project.

This is a highly regarded project for its feasibility of reusing waste as an electrical energy resource and is leading the way for the management of other waste facilities in Hanoi and across Vietnam.

In order to implement the project, the parties will set up a power plant on the basis of jointly designing, building, mobilising finance and operating. It is expected that the plant will be established, following the completion of a feasibility study, with a total capacity of 5MW.

Currently, the production of energy from waste is becoming an effective solution around the world, as well as in Vietnam, to solve environmental problems while contributing to the production of sustainable energy resources for the country. The government has also issued a range of mechanisms that encourage projects to generate electricity from waste, with all waste-to-energy production being purchased.

URENCO General Director Le Anh Tuan said that the project was proposed in August 2016 and approved by Hanoi People's Committee in Document No. 234 dated January 9, 2017. The joint programme is also supported by the World Bank and the Ministry of Environment of Korea.

Construction for the 5MW waste-to-energy facility, using gases generated from Nam Son waste treatment, will last for approximately 15 months. The plants will be in operation for 15 years and have an investment cost of over US$13 million.

According to experts, garbage dumps generate a huge amount of methane (CH4), which, if not collected and treated, will rise up into the air and turn into greenhouse gases at a ten times higher level than CO2. However, if they are collected and leveraged, they can become a useful energy source.

Previously, in the second quarter of 2017, the project on converting industrial waste into energy in Nam Son commune, Soc Son district, came into operation and received great support from the public with a special mission for a better environment and living conditions.

The energy from the garbage burning process will be recovered to produce electricity, thereby contributing to alternative energy development and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting fossil fuel sources and reducing environmental pollution.