Many manual brick kilns still operate secretly.

In Dong Van commune, workers put bricks and tiles into the manual kiln. Photo: Ho Phuong

Mr. Vi Van Quang - Head of the Economic - Infrastructure Department of Tan Ky district said that in the district there are currently 172 brick and tile kilns and kilns converted to waste gas treatment technology. Of which, the most concentrated is in Nghia Hoan commune with 137 kilns.

“Some facilities have just started to dismantle, so the suspension is also very difficult. The district has implemented power cuts and inspected clay transportation activities, and so far the situation has been basically contained,” said Mr. Quang.

According to observations by Nghe An Newspaper reporters, there are still a number of manual brick kilns operating in Dong Van commune, Tan Ky district. At the time of our presence (2:00 p.m. on March 27), 2 out of 3 brick kiln owners in Dong Van commune were still maintaining brick and tile firing activities. Currently, 2 brick kilns in Vinh Dong hamlet (Dong Van commune) owned by Mr. Pham Van Minh (born in 1989) have completely stopped operating. The other 2 tile kiln owners also in Vinh Dong hamlet, owned by Mr. Pham Van Tung and Pham Van Hang, are still secretly burning brick and tile kilns.

Mr. Pham Van Tung's tile kiln in Dong Van commune is still burning red hot. Photo: Ho Phuong

At Mr. Pham Van Hang’s kiln, there are nearly 10 workers moving tiles into the kiln. Around the two kilns of this household owner, there is still a large amount of unburned tiles. Materials to support the brick burning process such as coal, firewood, etc. are still piled up.

At the brick kiln of Mr. Pham Van Tung (born in 1972), when we arrived, one of the two kilns owned by him was still in the firing process. Mr. Tung admitted that his firing of bricks and tiles was wrong, causing difficulties for the district and commune authorities. "We promise the commune authorities that we will no longer produce new tiles to dismantle and demolish the kiln according to regulations" - Mr. Tung promised.

There are still more than 100,000 tiles at two tile production facilities in Dong Van commune. Photo: Ho Phuong

Discussing this issue, Mr. Phan Duc Quang - Chairman of Dong Van Commune People's Committee (Tan Ky) said that the commune government has also come down many times to mobilize, handle and require households to stop operations according to the district's direction.

“Basically, the brick kilns no longer produce new bricks. At night, we have to send officers to conduct surprise inspections. For this matter alone, I have personally gone to the households more than five times to persuade them to agree,” Mr. Quang added.

Some manual brick and tile kilns have stopped operating but have not been cleared. Photo: Ho Phuong

Tan Ky is the district with the most handmade brick kilns in Nghe An province. Regulations on stopping the operation of handmade brick kilns that pollute the environment and violate planning have been implemented for many years. However, the reality shows that many kilns are still operating secretly.