A waste water treatment facility in Da Nang collapsed two days after being put to a test run prior to its formal operation. The plant is a unit of Tho Quang Fisheries Service Industrial Zone.
Wastewater storage tank collapses after 2 days in operation.
The waste water facility reportedly was in its second day of operational testing and has since ended hopes of going fully operational. The cause has been identified to be a lack of reinforced concrete when the tank was built. The inside and outside pressure difference of the tank caused it to break down and collapse.
It was reported that this facility was capable of treating 3,000 cubic metres of waste water per day using biochemical technology. Over VND 10 billion (over USD 500,000) was invested into the construction of the plant, which began in June, 2009, under a Build-Own-and-Operate (BOO) agreement. Da Nang’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment and Quoc Viet Environmental Science and Technology (EST) Company are the only two investors of the project and were also running its operation.
Upon completion, the plant had been expected to treat all waste water coming from Tho Quang Fisheries Service Industrial Zone, before being discharged into the environment.
On July 12, Quoc Viet EST Company decided to commence with a test run. According to schedule, after one week, the facility would go into full operation, helping to treat the waste water from nearly 20 factories in the Industrial Zone and improve the environmental condition. However, the collapse of the waste water treatment facility occurred after just two days in operation.
Quoc Viet EST Company and relevant authorities are currently investigating the cause and trying to find a solution for the problem.
