Hanoi opens bid for $286 mln waste-to-energy project at its largest landfill

Hanoi is seeking investors for a major waste-to-energy project that will excavate and incinerate the entire volume of buried waste at Nam Son, the capital’s largest landfill, in an effort to rehabilitate the area and address long-standing pollution.

The Department of Agriculture and Environment has invited investors to register for the shortlisting round of the Hanoi environmental remediation and waste-to-energy project, with an estimated cost of VND7.53 trillion ($286.29 million).

The project will handle sewage sludge, daily household waste, and legacy waste buried at the Nam Son site, using waste-to-energy technology. Municipal authorities say the initiative aims to reduce odor pollution in Soc Son district and restore landfill cells that have reached capacity.

Plans call for construction of a waste-to-energy plant with a processing capacity of 2,400 tons per day and a sludge-drying system capable of handling 600 tons daily, of which 150 tons will be dried and fed back into the incinerator.

The project will also include transmission lines connecting to the national grid and accompanying infrastructure.

Investors are required to apply grate-furnace incineration technology capable of burning unclassified municipal waste and dried sludge, while ensuring that emissions, wastewater, and byproducts meet national environmental standards. Solidified fly ash will be landfilled or treated under approved methods.

The project will occupy 12.46 hectares in the northern section of the phase-two Nam Son waste treatment complex. It will be developed under a public-private partnership model with no state capital, requiring investors to secure all financing. Hanoi expects the facility to be operational by the fourth quarter of 2029.

Nam Son landfill, in operation since 1996, handles most of Hanoi’s waste and has long been associated with towering garbage piles, foul odors, and leachate that have affected surrounding communities.

Local authorities aim to excavate and treat all buried waste within the next 5-7 years, opening the path to convert the 500-hectare site into land for community use.

With over eight million residents, Hanoi discharges around 7,500 tons of household wastes daily, according to urban waste collector Urenco.