Nobody expects that Dong Dao (born in 1971) goes to a salt-marsh region like Can Gio (Hochiminh City) to build a plant processing brackish water to freshwater for the people in town.
Dong Dao, the singer
We meet Dong Dao at her plant named Dang Doan Nguyen Co., located in An Lo Village, Tam Thon Hiep Commune, Can Gio Town. The factory is ready to go but not other secondary works such as office, resting house and inside ways.
She still sings to 12 pm last night, back home answering customers’ emails until 2 am go to bed and then wake up at 6 am to take care of everything. She explains: “I’m used to it. Can’t stop the business and singing is in my blood. I just say no to going on tour.”
As a singer, Dong Dao could deal in service fields like restaurants, fashion shops, or musicial companies, for example, but she choose producing and trading freshwater. After the production completed, her company will supply to Can Gio with dealable price (currently negotiating), then they will sell the water to people in town as per government’s price-support programme.
Reason why choosing Can Gio, as Dong Dao says, when going on tour to this place yesterday, the first thing she could realize is that difficulty in freshwater. At that time, she does think about how to make enough water for the people here. And this singer tramps many regions in Can Gio for real surveys. Going to Soai Rap River to get water sample for testing, result shows unsatisfactorily due to pollutions from industrial zones and garbage. Switch to Nha Be River, considerring it’s not suitable for the supplying progress. Lastly, Long Tau River is the place Dong Dao chooses to build the plant. When starting the building, her company has to import a mini water plant with capacity of 300 m3/day supplying for the building progress.
Dong Dao’s mini water plant
Can Gio about not to be lack of freshwater
According to Dong Dao, the unit price her company offering is 15,400 dongs/m3, ex-works price. The Can Gio lighter system will receiving freshwater, transport to gathering points and then distribute to citizens. She asserts with this price, the city still save a lot of expenses comparing with transporting water from district 7 to the town.
Until now, freshwater has been transporting a distance of 20-27 kms by lighters from Tan Thuan (district 7) to people here. Each trip sometimes takes up to 16-18 hours. So, in average the government have to support 23,000 dongs of transport expenditures for every m3 carried from district 7 to Can Gio.
To enterprise, business means money but to this project, my dream suppling freshwater to people is going to be true. About taking funds back, our company will consider it 10 years later because it’s 5 times more expensive to invest a brackist-water processing line than a freshwater one. Moreover, the estimated cost for this project has increased by 30% due to slipage in prices.
Dao’s company is willing to give consultation, pass technology and even invest with salt-marsh inshore provinces in Cuu Long River Delta (if requested).
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Long Tau River, Saigon and Dong Nai River conjunction to the ocean, has a plentiful source of water and is less polluted than others. Furthermore, it’s convenient to transport freshwater throughout communes because most of Can Gio water-supplying systems are by lighters.
This plant in the first stage has the capacity of 5,300 m3/day and will increase this number up to 10,300 m3/day in the second stage after 9-12 months later. There’s also the line producing drinkingwater bottles and containers, capacity/hour: 6,000 bottles and 200 containers. This August, equipments for bottling plant will be on board from the US to Vietnam and start the operations in September. Total value of the brackishwater plant is 8.5 million and the bottling plant 1 million US dollars. If everything goes smoothly, then Can Gio in the near future will be supplied enough freshwater and no need to buy from outside.
“When begin doing this, I’m so concern at the fisrt time although I know people have already turned salt-water into freshwater. But now, with support from my husband (a businessman), I’m sure this project is going to be successful! The plant is going to supply freshwater at the end of this July.”
Then the problem for Can Gio freshwater has been solved.
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