Japan’s Hitachi Zosen Corporation has asked the government of HCMC for approval to get involved in three projects to treat garbage for electricity and fertilizer production at a combined cost of nearly US$80 million.

The proposal was made at a meeting between representatives of the corporation and the city government last week.

The first project worth around US$70 million will process garbage for power generation with a daily capacity of 600 tons of waste. It has got the go-ahead from the city government and the firm is working with relevant agencies to find a site for the project and expecting to start construction next year.

Hitachi Zosen plans to invest around US$5 million in a waste treatment system for Binh Dien Wholesale Market. This facility is designed to treat around 50 tons of garbage daily to produce biogas.

The company also wants to carry out a pilot project valued at some US$2 million to turn out gases and fertilizer from food waste with a daily treatment capacity of 500 kilograms.

Taiyo Miyagi, who is in charge of global business promotion at Hitachi Zosen, said the firm has spent four years studying garbage types in HCMC and wants to use them as for energy generation.

Hitachi Zosen is involved in 477 waste-to-energy projects around the world. In Vietnam, it has supplied equipment for a project treating garbage and generating power in Hanoi. The project with a daily treatment capacity of 75 tons will be put into operation next year.

HCMC vice chairman Tat Thanh Cang said the city was interested in waste treatment based on advanced technology. The city mainly buries waste as a cheap solution but this requires a lot of land for building landfills.

Many countries treat solid waste by burning it for energy generation but this method is still limited in Vietnam as garbage is classified properly, costs are high and supporting policies for investors are unattractive.

The total garbage volume nationwide is around 76,000 tons a day, equivalent to some 28 million tons a year. Of the volume, 80% is buried and around 20% is used to produce fertilizer.

In HCMC alone, 7,500-8,000 tons of garbage is discharged daily. The city expects to recycle up to 40% of it, bury 40% and burn the remainder this year. However, waste buried currently accounts for up to 75% of the total.