Illustrative photo. (Photo: VNA)
An initiative aimed at converting existing industrial parks into eco-friendly production facilities was introduced at a conference held in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on August 12.
The 4.5 million USD eco-industrial park project was approved in August last year using non-refundable aid from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).
It will be carried out on a trial basis at Khanh Phu IP in the northern province of Ninh Binh, Hoa Khanh IP in the central city of Da Nang and Tra Noc 1 and Tra Noc 2 IPs in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho.
Tran Duy Dong, Director General of the Department for Economic Zones Management under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said that although industrial parks have made great contributions to the national economy and created jobs for over 2.4 million labourers, their operations are posing threat to the environment. He reported that 16 industrial zones operating without sewage treatment plants while many others fail to pay adequate attention to the collection and treatment of their solid waste as well as to the control of greenhouse gas emissions.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, eco-industrial parks are a new model in Vietnam, which will be built through the application of advanced technologies and clean production methods to minimise greenhouse gases, hazardous wastes and water pollutants.
Heiz Leuneberger, Technical Chief Consultant of the project, underscored that the project’s implementation is crucial for industrial zones’ sustainable and comprehensive development, creating momentum for Vietnam’s national green growth strategies.
Meanwhile, Deputy Director of the Institute of Regional Sustainable Development Nguyen Dinh Chuc affirmed that investments in clean and energy-saving technologies will help enterprises improve their competitive capacities while catching up with their competitors in seizing control of the domestic market.-VNA
