The US Mission to Vietnam, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), on July 27 announced a 32 million USD contract to the US firm Tetra Tech to continue the cleanup of dioxin-contaminated soil in and around the Bien Hoa air base in the southern province of Dong Nai, according to a media release by the US Embassy in Vietnam.

Under this contract, Tetra Tech will provide engineering design, construction management, and environmental monitoring of civil works and treatment activities for dioxin-contaminated soil and sediment to reduce the risk of exposure to people there as well as in the bordering communities to restore the land for full use.  

US announces 32 million USD contract for dioxin remediation. Photo: VNA

In March, during her visit to Vietnam, USAID Administrator Samantha Power joined other US and Vietnamese government officials to announce another contract of up to 73 million USD awarded to Nelson Environmental Remediation USA to design and build a treatment facility to decontaminate soil and sediment on and around the air base.

Since April 2019, USAID has worked with the Ministry of National Defence to remediate approximately 500,000 cubic metres of dioxin-contaminated soil and sediment on and around the air base. In 2022, USAID completed remediation of an off-base lake (Gate 2 Lake) and returned it to the community for use as a recreational area, completed remediation of the first on-base area (Southwest area), commemorating this milestone with a US government-funded park on the site, and completed the construction of the long-term storage facility for soil with low levels of contamination.

Illustrative image (internet)

Dioxin remediation at Bien Hoa air base area project is expected to take 10 years to complete and cost an estimated 450 million USD. To date, he US government’s contribution is 218.255 million USD out of a total expected commitment of 300 million USD.

This year, the US and Vietnam are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their Comprehensive Partnership. The close cooperation over the past decades to overcome legacies of war is yet another example of how the two countries work strategically together to create a better future for their peoples./.