At a recent working session with the Standing Committee of the Hanoi Party Committee, General Secretary To Lam spent a lot of time talking about two very important issues: environmental pollution and traffic congestion. The immediate task is to deal with water pollution, especially the To Lich River.

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Many years after the Yen Xa wastewater treatment system project began, the water in the To Lich River is still pitch black. Photo: Quang Phong

Since 2009, Hanoi has proposed many solutions to revive the To Lich River. The solution that Hanoi has invested the most money in to clean up the To Lich River is to build underground sewers to separate wastewater from the river. There are nearly 300 sewers on both banks of the To Lich River, and every day about 150,000m3 of untreated wastewater is discharged into the river.

However, the Yen Xa wastewater treatment system project (separating wastewater from To Lich River, Lu River and part of Ha Dong area) started in October 2016, with a total investment of about 800 million USD (total capacity of 270,000m3/day and night), to date only the factory has been completed and put into trial operation on December 1, 2024, with a capacity of 100,000m3/day and night. The trial operation period is within 6 months.

The contract for the construction of underground sewers along both sides of the To Lich River is about 98% complete. The site clearance is currently underway and the entire contract is expected to be completed in December 2024. In late November 2024, the sewers were still discharging domestic wastewater directly into the To Lich River.

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On both banks of the To Lich River, there are still many projects under construction.

Thus, after more than 8 years of construction, the project with a total investment of about 800 million USD is still in the preparation stage for completion. Currently, every day, To Lich River still 'struggling' to contain hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of untreated wastewater. The river is still black and has a strong stench, making the people of the capital upset.

Unable to completely collect wastewater into To Lich River

At the inspection of the project implementation progress at the end of November, according to Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Trong Dong, package 2 (underground sewers along To Lich River) has been basically completed, but when the plant is in operation, it will not be able to completely collect wastewater into the river, especially in the upstream section because there are still 8 discharge gates that have not been collected into the system.

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Many items of the wastewater collection system along the To Lich River are not yet completed.

Therefore, the Hanoi Department of Construction advises to immediately add 8 discharge gates into the system for connection and thorough treatment of environmental pollution. If it is not in time, there must be a plan to block all gates, absolutely not allowing untreated waste to be discharged directly into the To Lich River; at the same time, there must be a plan to add clean water to improve the environment of the To Lich River.

In order for Yen Xa wastewater treatment plant to operate at full capacity of 270,000m3/day and night, Hanoi City also needs to soon complete the sewer system for Lu River (package 3) and build a sewer system for part of Ha Dong area (package 4).

However, up to now, both of the above packages are still 'shelved'. Specifically, for the Lu River culvert package, relevant units of Hanoi have carried out procedures to terminate the contract with the construction contractor. Currently, the dossier is being completed to adjust the capital source from ODA to the city budget to ensure progress.

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Below is the underground sewer system that carries water from the To Lich River to the Yen Xa wastewater treatment plant.

The contract for the construction of a sewer system for part of the Ha Dong area, after many months of being "shelved", has resumed construction in February 2024. Currently, about 22% of the work has been completed.

Thus, it can be seen that after many years of construction, the entire Yen Xa wastewater treatment system project is still in disarray with no clear completion date. Even though the wastewater treatment plant is completed, it still has to 'wait' for wastewater from the To Lich River, Lu River and part of the Ha Dong area to flow in.

To Lich River water turned green after 1 day, suddenly turned black and cloudy again

To Lich River water turned green after 1 day, suddenly turned black and cloudy again

In early July 2024, when West Lake led the flow into To Lich River, the water suddenly turned green and the stench in this area was significantly reduced. However, on the morning of July 2, the pitch-black color reappeared.
Bicycle lanes deserted due to heavy pollution of To Lich River?

Bicycle lanes deserted due to heavy pollution of To Lich River?

Many people hope that when the To Lich River is revived and no longer smells bad, the dedicated bicycle path along the river will be bustling and not as quiet as it is now.
The $800 million wastewater treatment project is not finished yet, don't expect to revive the To Lich River

The $800 million wastewater treatment project is not finished yet, don't expect to revive the To Lich River

If the project to collect and treat wastewater on both sides of the river is not completed, no matter what solutions are available, even investing thousands of billions more, it will not be able to revive the To Lich River.