Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung made the statement at a reception for visiting Deputy Foreign Minister of Finland Elina Kalkku in Hanoi on March 14.
The two sides underlined the need for increasing the presence of Finnish firms in Hanoi to help the city address garbage and wastewater issues.
Elina Kalkku highlighted the long-term relationship between Vietnam and Finland in numerous fields, particularly in clean water supply and wastewater treatment.
The “Vietnam Water” programme, funded by the Government of Finland, was first implemented in Hanoi and then expanded to 25 communes, wards and townships in northern provinces and cities, she said.
Finland has effective solid waste treatment technologies, particularly those turning waste into energy, she said, adding that the Finnish Embassy in Vietnam will organise a workshop on the issue, with a hope to see the participation of representatives from the municipal People’s Committee.
Hanoi authorities and people always keep in their mind the support the Government and people of Finland have provided for the capital city, Chung noted, elaborating that the country has provided assistance for the city to build its water supply and processing plants.
Hanoi is focusing on developing a clean water supply system meeting European standards, the city mayor said, calling on private investors to use surface water treatment technology instead of exploiting underground water.
The city also encourages investors to update filtering technology up to European standards, while revising its plan on clean water supply for its residents.
Currently, treatment of wastewater in the industrial parks and clusters is an urgent issue to Hanoi as the rate reached only 57 percent. The rate of domestic wastewater treatment was just 35 percent, much lower than nearby localities.
By 2020, all local industrial parks and clusters, and 1,300 craft villages are expected to have wastewater treatment stations.
