Da Nang (VNA) – Representatives of the US Agencyfor International Development (USAID), Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defenceand Air Defense - Air Force signed a deal on August 9 to hand over 12.7hectares of land, which had been cleaned up from dioxin contamination at DaNang airport, to the Ministry of Transport for management.

This is the second handover of detoxified landfor the expansion of the airport as the USAID and Vietnam’s Ministry ofNational Defence are cooperating to disinfect dioxin-contaminated land and mudat the area which used to be a US air base.

The governments of the US and Vietnam have beenjoining hands to deal with dioxin contamination in Vietnam since 2007.

Launched in 2012, the dioxin detoxification project at the DaNang airport is an important milestone in bilateral cooperative relations. Theproject has successfully treated 94,000 cubic metres of contaminated land andmud and it is expected to be completed in early 2018. At that time, all healthrisks posed by dioxin exposure will be removed.

Senior Lieutenant General Pham Ngoc Minh, DeputyChief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, said the Da Nangairport is one of the three “hotspots” of dioxin contamination in Vietnam.

The airport is located at a strategic positionin terms of both security-defence and socio-economic development of Da Nang andthe entire central region, he said.

The second-phase handover of land is the jointachievements and efforts of the Vietnamese Government, the Ministry of NationalDefence and the USAID to implement effectively the dioxin detoxificationproject using non-refundable official development assistance (ODA) from the USGovernment, he added.

In May 2017, after completing the first phraseof the project, the Ministry of National Defence handed over 5.97 hectares ofland to build a taxiway and an expanded apron at the airport to serve the APECEconomic Leaders Week in Dang Nang later this year.

[Steering Committee on UXO, toxic chemical cꦚonsequences established]

The dioxin detoxification project is due to be completedin the first quarter of 2018. After that, the defense ministry will hand overthe remaining land area of about 16 hectares to the Ministry of Transport forthe expansion of the airport in line with a planning scheme approved by theGovernment.

The ministry will continue working with theUSAID to implement a dioxin treatment project using ODA provided by the USGovernment at Bien Hoa airport – another “hotspot” of dioxin contamination.

The latest statistics showed that nearly 6million hectares of land across Vietnam are contaminated with bombs, mines anddioxin. 

To create the best legal and institutionalframework for the clearance of bombs, mines and toxic chemicals left over from thewar, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has signed a decision to establish a nationalsteering committee.

In September 2017, the defense ministry willofficially launch a Vietnam-Republic of Korea project to address bomb and mineconsequences using non-refundable ODA worth 20 million USD from the Republic ofKorea.

As planned, bombs and mines and explosives willbe disarmed by 2019 under the project to clear up 8,000 hectares of land incentral Binh Dinh and Quang Nam provinces.-VNA