Illustrative photo (Source: VNA)HCM City (VNA) – TheMinistry of Investment and Planning and the International Financial Corporation(IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, co-organised a conference in Hanoi onDecember 21 to publish a report on technical guides for eco-industrial parks.
The report, part of their jointproject on industrial resources efficiency and clean energy, set out criteriaand necessary steps to turn Vietnamese industrials parks (IPs) into eco-ones.It showed opportunities and challenges facing the work and put forth measuresto build an ecosystem inside IPs.
Vietnam is home to about 330 IPs.They play an importance role in attracting foreign direct investment,increasing exports and creating jobs. However, they consume a large amount ofresources and cause negatives impacts on the environment and nearby communities.
Navneet Chadha, IFC ResourceEfficiency Lead for East Asia and Pacific, said industrial symbiosis concerningwaste exchange and recycling is an effective environmental solution and offernew business opportunities. If an IP recycles its wastewater for production, itcould reduce the volume of wastewater discharged into the environment by up to40 percent and cut clean water costs, he elaborated.
Vu Tuong Anh, an IFC expert, saideco-IPs involve effective environmental and resources management, cleanerproduction at each company inside the IPs, and networks of industrial symbiosisbetween companies and the IPs’ green infrastructure.
The eco-IPs model has beenoperated successfully in many countries, including China, the Republic ofKorea, Japan, and the US. Recently, on May 22, the Vietnamese Government issuedDecree 82/2018/ND-CP on IP and economic zone management, which clarifiesspecifications of, as well as development goals and favorable policies foreco-IPs in Vietnam.
Vuong Minh Hieu, a representativefrom the Ministry of Investment and Planning, said turning available IPs intoeco-IPs will help translate Decree 82/2018/ND-CP into reality.
According to Hieu, as a result, enterpriseswill see their costs cut, and profits and competitiveness improved, while theVietnamese industry sector will ensure its sustainable growth in line with thecountry’s commitments in many free trade agreements it has signed.
In the next five years, Vietnam willprioritise building a guiding document for eco-IPs and builds databasessupporting the changing process nationwide.-VNA
VNA
