Germany Grants Additional $1.3M for Bomb, Mine Clearance in Central Vietnam

The government of Germany has pledged an aid worth $1.3 million to clear wartime bombs, mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in central Vietnam this year.This brings the total amount of grant that Germany has given for these projects in the region to $15 million over the past 15 years.The latest project, to be implemented by the Solidarity Service International (SODI), a German non-governmental organization (NGO), will be conducted in the three provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue. SODI experts helped uncover and remove nearly 19,300 UXO in Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue last year, of which 275 hectares of land were used for resettlement areas and agriculture production.The three aforesaid provinces are among the country’s localities with the highest volumes of unexploded bombs, mines and explosives, which have severe impacts on daily life and production activities of the locals.Thousands of unexploded bombs and grenades are still buried in the ground across Vietnam. Since the Vietnam War ended in 1975, more than 40,000 people have died of the leftover explosives. (vnexpress.net Feb 20, Tien Phong – Pioneer Feb 20 p6)