Central province calls for investment in wastes treatment

Nghe An province (VNA)- The central province of Nghe An has called
for an estimated 90 billion VND in investment in medical waste treatment to
virtually solve its environmental pollution caused by hospital wastes by
2012.

Under the provincial calculation, the treatment of liquid wastes
discharged by 20 hospitals costs 60 billion VND while another 5.4 billion
VND is needed to treat hazardous wastes. The province is also in need of 15
billion VND to install safe water supply systems for 10 hospitals and five
billion VND to build cold warehouses to contain hazardous medical wastes at
the provincial Friendship Hospital as well as to buy
garbage-collecting vans.

The amount of investments is so big that Nghe An, a poor province in the
country, is hard to afford, its authorities said.

In response to its call, counselors from the German Reconstruction Bank
(KFZ) as well as form GTZ and DED organizations, also of Germany , have
promised to propose an aid worth of 7.7 million Euro for the province to
help it cope with medical wastes problems.

The promise was made after the experts have conducted surveys on medical
facilities and environmental problems at the provincial Friendship
Hospital and several hospitals at the district level.


The Inter-Aid, a non-governmental organisation dealing with wastes
treatment from Singapore , has also decided to invest in a waste
treatment system for medical stations in Nghe An.