The 21.5-killometre Duong Dong river is the largest river on Phu Quoc Island.
The river’s pollution is blamed on waste discharged from nearby households, boats, restaurants and hotels. In addition, hundreds of businesses along the river are involved in fish sauce production. Lots of them have no sewage treatment system.
Duong Dong River in Phu Quoc
The recent land price hikes have also resulted in the establishment of illegal residential areas, which has worsened conditions. The severe contamination has caused mass fish deaths.
According to Le Quoc Anh, vice chairman of Kien Giang Provincial People’s Committee, the locality has considered solutions, including the removal of residential areas along the river banks to build parks. But at present, the province still lacks capital for the project, so it plans to auction the land of the old Phu Quoc Airport to raise funds.
Anh added that by 2030, the city would have built Dong Cay Sao and Bai Bon waste treatment complexes in Cua Duong and Ham Ninh communes respectively. Bai Bon, with a daily capacity of 78.30 tonnes of waste, is scheduled to be put into operation in September this year. Meanwhile, the province has issued online bidding documents online for the Dong Cay Sao project.
At present, around 200 tonnes of litter is collected in Phu Quoc every day and some 160 tonnes of this is gathered at Dong Cay Sao temporary landfill.