Lesson 1: Looking from the Ground

(Baonghean)On December 31st, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued Decision No. 4325 approving the project for the development of non-fired building bricks in the province. Accordingly, by December 31st, 2013, the operation of manual brick kilns in the province will cease and the dismantling will be completed.

Previously, Nghi Loc district had over 70 operating manual brick kilns, concentrated in several communes: Nghi Van, Nghi Hoa, Nghi Quang, Nghi Lam… By April 2013, only 40 kilns remained in the district, 10 of which had ceased operation. The district directed the communes to terminate or renew contracts with the kiln owners.

Regarding Nghi Van, a commune with many manual brick kilns, Mr. Phan Cong Nam - Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Committee - said: Nghi Van has 11 manual brick kilns; at this time, 9 kilns have ceased operation, and the remaining 2 kilns are operating. According to the commitment of the kiln owners, they will use up the remaining clay reserves and cease operations by June 2013. According to the commune's plan, by the fourth quarter of 2013, the kiln owners will dismantle all their brick kilns.

Traditional brick kilns in Nghi Van commune (Nghi Loc district)

Mr. Bui Van Binh, one of the two kiln owners still operating in Nghi Van, told us: For a long time, bricks produced in traditional kilns could not compete with those from tunnel kilns. Coupled with the economic downturn, sales have been sluggish, and his kiln still has tens of thousands of bricks in stock. He hopes to receive some financial support from the government because his kiln, which cost over 600 million VND to build, has not yet recouped its investment. He plans to convert the 4 hectares of land currently used for the kiln into aquaculture.

Mr. Nguyen Van Chat, Head of the Industry and Trade Department of Nghi Loc District, said: "In the plan, the district has set very specific tasks: By the end of the third quarter of 2013, complete the dismantling of 28 kilns whose contracts have expired, and eliminate 3 kilns that are still under contract. At the upcoming meeting of the District People's Council, the District People's Committee will present to the council a policy mechanism to support the dismantling of manual brick kilns. To date, the total production of non-fired bricks in the district has reached 100 million bricks per year, meeting the construction needs of the people."

In Do Luong district, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Kieu, Deputy Head of the Department of Industry and Trade, said: Before 2010, there were 46 manual brick kilns in the district; currently, 20 kilns have ceased operation, and 26 are still operating. Minh Son commune, one of the localities with the most manual brick kilns in the district (18 kilns), currently has 3 kilns in operation; these kilns, according to contracts with the commune, will not expire until 2015.

According to Mr. Hoang Thanh Vy, a construction official in the commune, three of the operating kilns in the area have recently undergone renovations, including the construction of chimneys costing hundreds of millions of dong. If they cease operation, they will face significant difficulties. What is particularly concerning is that in April 2012, the Prime Minister issued a decision on the program for developing non-fired building materials. It is unclear how the local authorities managed the situation, allowing kiln owners to continue renovating their traditional brick kilns.

Mr. Dao Van Chien, originally from Hung Yen province, signed a land lease contract to build a brick kiln. His family's contract expires at the end of 2015, and he is currently concerned about having to terminate the contract prematurely. Who will be responsible for compensating for the damages caused by breaking the contract?

Based on the results of the inspection teams, the Department of Industry and Trade of Do Luong District has only recently developed a plan to eliminate manual brick kilns. In our opinion, the failure to develop a plan to eliminate manual brick kilns at this time is a delay compared to other localities. Whether all manual brick kilns in the district will be completely eliminated by December 31, 2013 remains a difficult question to answer.

Thus, up to this point, Do Luong has yet to develop a plan to eliminate manual brick kilns. The process of developing, approving, and implementing the plan is a lengthy one, and the deadline of December 31, 2013 is fast approaching.

On the other hand, in a discussion with the Deputy Head of the Department of Industry and Trade, he suggested that some locations still have a positive impact on improving soil for agricultural production and should be reconsidered. This seems contrary to the goal of eliminating manual brick kilns. The objective of eliminating manual brick kilns is environmental protection; we cannot prioritize short-term economic gains at the expense of continued environmental pollution.

The two localities have different viewpoints, which also reflect the overall reality before the government's policy of dismantling manual brick kilns.

Anh Tuan - Hoang Vinh

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