HANOI: Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment has proposed a roadmap for controlling motorcycle exhaust emissions, Vietnam News Agency reported.
Local authorities will set up a legal framework in 2023 and issue a plan on exhaust emissions control, and consider zoning areas for air environment protection and motorcycle limitation.
In 2024 and 2025, they will pilot annual inspections of the motorcycles that have been used for five years and over.
From 2026, the vehicles already used for three to five years and over must undergo regular exhaust emission inspections. Authorities will also limit those failing to meet emission standards in the zoned areas.
The department had recently conducted a survey of 3,867 local vehicle owners, and 86 per cent of them voiced support for controlling exhaust emissions from old motorcycles.
The emission control through regular inspection and maintenance is said to generate considerable benefits, including saving fuel costs, reducing by up to 35% of the carbon monoxide emissions and 40% of the hydrocarbon emissions, and easing the budgetary burden on health services to address air pollution effects, the department noted.
As of July, there were more than 7.6 million vehicles in the Vietnamese capital, including over one million automobiles and nearly 6.5 million motorcycles.
They exclude vehicles from other localities passing through the city, according to the municipal Department of Transport.
