DONG NAI, Vietnam: A thick layer of dust from the construction of a huge airport in Vietnam has been blanketing nearby neighbourhoods for months, staining everything from trees to homes to schoolchildren’s uniforms a sickly shade of red.
Located 40km from southern business hub Ho Chi Minh City, the four-runway Long Thanh airport – which will be the country’s largest – is forecast to transport 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of cargo annually once finished.
But after heavy construction work began earlier this year, residents as far as 10km from the site have been living under billowing clouds of dust, prompting fears for their health and anger over the disruption caused to their lives.
“It has been unbearable. The red dust is just everywhere in our community,” said Tran Minh Hoang, who lives in Dong Nai province’s Binh Son district.
Hoang, 59, begins each day hosing down his front yard to get rid of the muck, but the dust was so severe that he resorted to wrapping a fine nylon net around the entire front section of the house.
“It has helped a little,” he told AFP.
His wife, Nguyen Thi Tuyet Hanh, said they had kept their one-year-old grandson almost entirely indoors for months.
“We cannot force him to wear a face mask. So it’s better to limit his time outdoors,” Hanh said.
A thick coating of dust could be seen in the yard of local schools, while pictures on state media showed textbooks, classrooms and children’s uniforms had turned red after a school day.
Nguyen Van Chanh, 70, said the chairs, bowls and dishes in his kitchen were covered, as was his laundry.