Vinacomin to review red mud disposal system: official

The Tan Rai alumina plant in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong

Photo: Tien Phong newspaper

The state-owned Vietnam National Coal Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) will check the design of red-mud disposal lakes in the Tan Rai alumina plant following the recent red mud spill in Hungary, Vinacomin deputy director Duong Van Hoa told Tien Phong newspaper.

In an interview with Tien Phong on Wednesday, Duong Van Hoa said the red mud incident in Hungary has attracted the attention of the Party and State leaders as well as relevant ministries and agencies, and Vinacomin also watched closely the red mud spill of the world's first aluminum production industry in the last 100 years.

How is the Tan Rai project progressing?

Work on the Tan Rai alumina plant is entering its final stage. It is expected that the project will finish later this year, and the first product will come out early next year.

The project is about three months behind schedule due to the rainy season and several problems when importing equipment. However, the delay is not too serious for such a VND12 trillion (US$615 million) project.

What are the warnings that the Hungarian red mud spill can give the Tan Rai project?

I think it gives a very serious warning that makes us reconsider the design of the red mud disposal lakes in the Tan Rai alumina plant.

The plant is using Bayer technology. The equipment is not totally made in China but also in the EU, Japan and some in Vietnam. The main contractor is China’s Chalieco.

The disposal lake is designed by Samy Consulting Institute in Shenyang, one of the leading design institutes in China's aluminum industry.

The construction of the red mud disposal lake in Tan Rai is completely different from the one in Hungary. The one in Hungary is built on the lowlands while the Tan Rai disposal lake is located below the valley, protected by surrounding hills.

But the area has been hit by flash floods?

To prevent flooding in case of heavy rains or flash floods, we have designed the drainage system around the disposal lake to ensure water does not spill over the lake. When flash floods occur, water can not overflow the lake as the amount of red mud is not higher than surrounding hills.

We also studied the plan for earthquake resistance. We will review all the deigns of the red mud disposal system.

Some have raised concerns over the quality of works overseen by Chinese contractors. What do you think?

I have not seen any problems in the building of this plant by far. I was questioned a lot about why did not import equipment from the EU, the US or Australia.

If anyone thinks that we imported Chinese equipment because they are cheap, it is just one reason. There is another reason, that is the regulations. When the project is out there for bidding, there are very clear criteria. If their equipment are cheap but still meet world standard, they will win the contract.

What about the project’s economic effectiveness?

Regarding to economic effectiveness, we have calculated full costs and market conditions of the project.

This project can give a boost to economic development in the Central Highlands. It provides jobs to 2,000 local workers, and will require more services such as transport, and repairing services.

What about the profit?

It is calculated that the project will gain the profit of 11 percent. It is not high, but we must pursuit economic and social targets of the government.

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Typhoon Mindulle forecast to hit Vietnam

Senior officials have given strong warnings about the approaching typhoon Mindulle, which is predicted to bring prolonged, heavy rains before and after reaching the Vietnamese mainland, Voice of Vietnam (VOV) has reported.

At an urgent meeting in Hanoi on Monday, the National Center for Hydrometeorology Forecast warned that the typhoon could possibly hold rainfall of up to 300 or 400mm, especially in the next few days, threatening flash floods and landslides in some areas of Vietnam.

Presiding over the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai asked ministries and localities to recall ships and boats operating at sea and press agencies to provide timely information on the storm development.

He said provinces in the northern mountainous and north central region need to relocate people living in areas prone to flash floods or landslides.

The Deputy PM also emphasized measures to prevent flooding which might be caused by heavy rain in urban areas and asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to send working groups to Hanoi, Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa, and Nghe An.

The National Committee for Search and Rescue requested all cities, provinces and ministries contact and inform the owners of boats and vessels about Typhoon Mindulle and where to take shelter.

The High Command of Border Guards said 58,177 boats and vessels, including 20 from Quang Ngai province, have been contacted and guided back to the mainland. However, 10 ships are still out of contact.

Meanwhile, seven people were missing after a landslide buried their hillside farms in northern Vietnam, officials said Monday.

The landslide hit without warning amid sunny weather Sunday, said Vu Tien Duc, deputy party chief of the Mu Cang Chai district in the province of Yen Bai.

The victims, including two boys aged 7 and 15, were harvesting corn on terraced fields on the hillside.

"I don't think they could have survived," said Luong Tuan Anh, a storm and flood control official in Yen Bai. "How could they survive when such a huge amount of earth fell on them?"

Anh said Yen Bai had suffered heavy rains in the past month and that water absorbed in the earth might have caused the landslide.

Authorities began rescue operations late Sunday, but no victims had been found, Anh said.

Vietnam is a disaster-prone country where heavy rains and flooding kill hundreds of people every year.

According to Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, disasters have killed an average of 750 people each year for the past 10 years and caused losses of 1.5 per cent of Vietnam's gross domestic product.

State media last week reported that almost 350,000 Vietnamese households need to be relocated over the next five years from areas vulnerable to flash floods and landslides.

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Landslide deaths trigger new wet-season alarms

Prolonged heavy rain triggered a landslide that has killed three people in northern Quang Ninh province.

The deaths raised safety fears for thousands of residents in the flood and landslide-prone northern mountainous provinces of Ha Giang, Lao Cai and Yen Bai as the wet season approaches.

Seventeen people were killed or presumed dead after floods and landslides in Ha Giang province in the first seven months of this year. Forty-two houses were also destroyed.

The province's Xin Man, Yen Minh, Bac Quang and Quang Binh districts were particularly prone to floods and landslides, officials said.

To Thanh Lai, chairman of Yen Thanh Commune People's Committee in Quang Binh district, warned that landslides were expected at numerous locations along Highway 279.

Floods and landslides killed 238 people in Lao Cai province between 2000 and 2008, swept away 1,200 houses and destroyed more than 10,000ha of paddy fields.

Le Thanh Du, the provincial Agriculture and Rural Development deputy director, said: "Floods and landslides have occurred more frequently and been more serious in recent years," adding that thousands of residents were put at risk annually.

He blamed climate change for the unpredictable weather.

"In previous years, flash floods and landslides were often caused by prolonged heavy rain of between 200-300mm, but this year, floods and landslides have taken place in areas where the rainfall has measured just 8-10mm," he said.

"As a result, local authorities have been carrying out more checks in high-risk areas to ensure response measures are prompt. They have also relocated more than 5,000 people from areas prone to flash floods and landslides," Du said.

Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the National Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Centre, said it was difficult to predict exactly where and when landslides and flash-floods would take place.

"The lack of flood-forecasting technology and limited training hinder our work. Reliable warnings are based on many factors, not just on the likelihood of rain," he said.

He said that flash floods and landslides often happened after spells of drought, particularly in mountainous areas and near river mouths.

"When hearing strange noises and finding that the water level in rivers has dropped suddenly or risen dramatically, people should move to safe areas," he said.

Hai added that heavy rains were expected in northern mountainous regions in the next few days./.

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