Seminar discusses how to shift IZs, EPZs into eco-industrial parks

Pham Thanh Truc, deputy head of Management Board of IZs and EPZs in Ho Chi Minh City, speaks at the seminar (Photo: VNA)

HCM City (VNA) – The Ministry of Planning and Investment, incollaboration with the UN Industrial Development Organisation and the ManagementBoard of Industrial Zones (IZs), and Export Processing Zones (EPZs), held aseminar in Ho Chi Minh City on March 29, discussing how to turn IZs and EPZsinto eco-industrial parks (EIPs).

This is among the activities within the framework of theproject on establishing EIPs in Vietnam following the Global Eco-IndustrialParks Programme (GEIPP), in which Hiep Phuoc IZ is selected to be the first inHo Chi Minh City to pilot the model.

Speaking at the event, Pham Thanh Truc, deputy head of ManagementBoard of IZs and EPZs in Ho Chi Minh City, said that after 30 years ofconstruction and development, IZs and EPZs in the city have gained certainachievements, making positive contributions to the industrialisation andmodernisation of the country. However, there remain certain limitations.

Sharing the same view, Nguyen Tram Anh, an expert from the Ministry ofPlanning and Investment, said that the limitations in the development of IZstoday are the lack of linkages between businesses in the zone; inefficient useof resources; unsecured energy and water; and their negative impacts on thenatural environment and living environment of near-by residents.

She affirmed that the trend of shifting from traditional IZsto EIPs is inevitable./.

VNA