Developing eco-industrial parks would help address the problems caused by normal industrial production and industrial zones (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Developing eco-industrial parks would help Vietnamattract foreign direct investment and promote sustainable growth.
This conclusion highlighted a two-day conference ending on November 9 aboutopportunities, challenges and barriers to eco-industrial parks in the country.It was co-organised by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the UnitedNations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in Ho Chi Minh City as part of the“Implementation of eco-industrial park initiative for sustainable industrialzones in Vietnam” project.
Tran Huy Dong, Director of the ministry’s Department for Local and RegionalEconomy, said the increases in industrial production and industrial zonesbrought challenges like environmental pollution, negative impacts on residents’lives, the inefficient use of resources and the inadequate application of greentechnologies.
Dong said developing eco-industrial parks would help address all of theseproblems.
Dong said that in the future, the eco-industrial park model could be consideredcompulsory for production companies that discharge huge amounts of emissions.
Within the project, funded by the Global Environment Facility and Swiss StateSecretariat of Economic Affairs, the eco-industrial park initiative has beenimplemented in Ninh Binh, Da Nang and Can Tho with the participation of 72companies over three years.
Vu Quoc Huy, Deputy Director of the Department of Local and Regional Economy,said the pilot implementation of eco-industrial parks at Khanh Phu, Gian Khau industrialzones (IZs) (Ninh Binh province), Hoa Khanh IZ (Da Nang city) and Tra Noc IZ (CanTho) helped save hundreds of billions of dong in the past three years.
Huy cited statistics showing that investment in the development ofeco-industrial parks totalled 270 billion VND (11.74 million USD), but a sum ofmore than 171 billion VND was saved in the past three years by reducing the useof raw materials, power, water, fuel and chemicals. Solid waste discharge wasreduced by more than 9,300 tonnes and waste water was reduced by 850,000 cu.m.
Huy said eco-industrial parks also had benefits in saving costs for companies,reducing resource consumption and discharge for the environment, improvinglabourers’ health and living quality and reaching sustainable development goalsfor management agencies.
The ministry would issue a decree next year to complete the legal framework forthe implementation of eco-industrial parks, Huy said, adding that regulationsabout recycling and waste treatment were the two most difficult matters incompiling the regulations.
According to Heinz Leuenberger of the University of Applied Sciences and ArtsNorthwestern Switzerland, it is important to have detailed instructions forenterprises and industrial parks to approach the eco-industrial park model. Theparks must be made more attractive than traditional industrial zones to ensurefeasibility, he said.
Nguyen Thi Hong Lieu from the Vietnam Environment Administration saidindustrial park developers still paid little attention to buildingeco-industrial parks, adding that they were more focused on increasingoccupancy.
Experts at the conference pointed out that eco-industrial parks would helpattract quality foreign direct investment, improve competitiveness and promotesustainable growth in Vietnam.
Smail Alhilali from UNIDO said eco-industrial parks would help reduceproduction waste and promote the use of recyclable materials.
The Government issued Decree No 82/2018/ND-CP on May 22 about economic andindustrial zone management, which set criteria for eco-industrial parks.
According to UNIDO, an eco-industrial park is a community of businesses locatedon a common property where members seek enhanced environmental, economic andsocial performance through collaboration in managing environmental and resourceissues.
Statistics from the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed that since 1991,Vietnam has developed 326 industrial and processing zones with a total area of94,000 hectares, attracting more than 16,000 projects with a total registeredcapital of more than 180 billion USD. — VNS/VNA
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