An overabundance of low-quality motorbikes and inefficient infrastructure has pushed dust concentration levels in Ho Chi Minh City alarmingly high, say experts.

At times, levels of dust found in the city’s air can measure up to 4.8 times higher than deemed safe.

“Exhaust fumes from motorbikes are the main cause of air pollution in the city,” Duong Thi Minh Hang of the HCMC Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) told a conference on air quality Tuesday.

The meeting was co-organized by the DNRE and the HCMC College of Natural Resources and Environment (CNRE) to tackle air pollution.

Le Anh Tu of the Transport Ministry’s Registration Bureau said motorbikes were the biggest source of pollution of all types of vehicles in HCMC.

Motorbikes make up 95 percent of all forms of transportation in the city and consume 60 percent of all traffic fuel, he said.

Statistics show there are more than four million vehicles in HCMC and half of the population – more than 6.6 million – owns a motorbike.

Many experts also blamed construction on a major water drainage project for increasing the city’s air pollution.

Inefficient urban planning and a plethora of street barriers set up for the project have led to regular traffic gridlocks and worsened pollution.

Major pollution “hot spots” include the An Suong intersection in District 12, Go Vap intersection in the eponymous district, and the intersection of Dinh Tien Hoang and Dien Bien Phu streets in District 1.

DNRE reported that last year, automatic air sensors on city streets found dust concentrations of between 1.24 and 4.8 times more than allowable levels.

The Vietnam Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality set a limit of 1 mg per liter of air for mineral and organic dusts.

Dust concentrations last year increased by between 1.06 and 1.18 percent over 2007, while the concentration of carbon monoxide also increased by between 1.02 and 1.43 percent.

Pham Ngoc Dang, chairman of the Vietnam Clean Air Partnership (VCAP), said there should be stricter management of exhaust fumes emitted from vehicles and a focus on increasing fuel quality.

VCAP was established under the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment to help promote and demonstrate innovative ways to improve air quality.

Reported by Mai Vong