Environment minister takes the heat
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) is keeping close watch on the development of China’s three nuclear power plants in Guangxi, Guangzhou and Hainan, all of which are provinces that border Vietnam, said minister Trần Hồng Hà during the NA’s Q&A session yesterday.
“We are watching them very closely. The Government has entrusted the Ministry of Science and Technology to set up observer posts and to work with international nuclear agencies to inspect the borderland areas,” Hà said.
The ministry and its offices are also working on contingency plans for scenarios in which radioactive contamination may pose a threat to Vietnam.
In light of the recent real estate rush in Vân Đồn, Bắc Vân Phong and Phú Quốc, the three localities selected to potentially become the first of Vietnam’s special economic zones, the minister said the rush was a result of the market’s expectations.
“We all knew it would happen but as of now there isn’t an effective way to stop the rush,” he said.
Hà cited the real estate rush around Long Thành, a southern district chosen to be the location for a major international airport where underground property transactions were rampant despite local authorities’ efforts.
The minister said he was aware that real estate prices in the three localities had tripled in recent months. To counter the rush, local authorities had stopped all processes to change land purposes. Hà said while it was an effective measure in the short run, ultimately the NA must pass regulations to address this issue.
Deputies Nguyễn Anh Trí and Trịnh Ngọc Phương asked what the minister had to say about the poor air quality index in Hanoi, which they claimed to be unhealthy nine out of 10 days.
Hà said the ministry’s own air monitoring system did not register such findings. He admitted that while the air quality index could be poor it had not been as serious as some might claim.
This is the second time Hà was grilled by NA deputies. The first time he took questions was in November 2016 shortly after the Formosa’s crisis, one of the country’s worst environmental disasters to date. Hà will continue taking questions from lawmakers in today’s Q&A session.
Trần Hồng Hà, head of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE)
The ministry and its offices are also working on contingency plans for scenarios in which radioactive contamination may pose a threat to Vietnam.
In light of the recent real estate rush in Vân Đồn, Bắc Vân Phong and Phú Quốc, the three localities selected to potentially become the first of Vietnam’s special economic zones, the minister said the rush was a result of the market’s expectations.
“We all knew it would happen but as of now there isn’t an effective way to stop the rush,” he said.
Hà cited the real estate rush around Long Thành, a southern district chosen to be the location for a major international airport where underground property transactions were rampant despite local authorities’ efforts.
The minister said he was aware that real estate prices in the three localities had tripled in recent months. To counter the rush, local authorities had stopped all processes to change land purposes. Hà said while it was an effective measure in the short run, ultimately the NA must pass regulations to address this issue.
Deputies Nguyễn Anh Trí and Trịnh Ngọc Phương asked what the minister had to say about the poor air quality index in Hanoi, which they claimed to be unhealthy nine out of 10 days.
Hà said the ministry’s own air monitoring system did not register such findings. He admitted that while the air quality index could be poor it had not been as serious as some might claim.
This is the second time Hà was grilled by NA deputies. The first time he took questions was in November 2016 shortly after the Formosa’s crisis, one of the country’s worst environmental disasters to date. Hà will continue taking questions from lawmakers in today’s Q&A session.
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