Norway helps Quang Tri tackle consequences of bombs, mines

The funding comes under an agreement signed on April 18 between the NPA and the provincial People’s Committee to carry out the project “Restoring the Environment and Neutralising the Effects of the War” (RENEW).

During 2018-2022, the project will focus on conducting technical and non-technical surveys to support efforts to clean up land that has been contaminated by unexploded ordnance as well as enhancing management capacity of the project.

At the signing ceremony, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Mai Thuc affirmed the crucial role of the NPA in assisting the locality in addressing post-war consequences over the past years, expressing his hope that RENEW project will make significant contributions to improving the efficiency of the bomb and mine clearance.

Quang Tri, known as one of the provinces hardest hit by mines and bombs, wishes to receive further cooperation and assistance from the NPA in the coming time, he noted.

According to the State Steering Committee for National Action Programme on the Settlement of Toxic Chemical Consequences, which is now the National Steering Committee on the Settlement of Post-war Unexploded Ordnance and Toxic Chemical Consequences, the removal of bombs, mines and other types of explosives in Vietnam is expected to take hundreds of years and cost around US$10 billion.

The NPA, founded in 1939, is one of Norway’s largest non-governmental organisations and has been involved in mine clearance activities in Vietnam since 2008. To date, more than 131 million square metres of land in Quang Tri province have been mapped out as confirmed hazardous areas that need full clearance.

The NPA’s teams have destroyed nearly 70,000 pieces of dangerous ordnance, helping to eliminate the risks of death and injury for local residents.