Despite having a wealth of opportunities to invest and make profits in the United States and other countries, David Duong, president and CEO of California Waste Solutions (CWS) and Vietnam Waste Solutions (VWS), has decided to inject money into the nation through a range of environmental projects in his homeland. 

David Duong, president and CEO of California Waste Solutions
and Vietnam Waste Solutions

Duong originally settled in the US when he was 18 years old and began his career from the bottom, successfully worked his way up to become the president and CEO of CWS and VWS.

In his early days in the US, his family struggled find employment and it was through the strong will and family traditions of doing business that he gradually came up economically and is now reaping success from his hard work.

Despite still residing in the US, Duong has been always a Vietnamese national and he says his childhood in Vietnam provides him with fond memories that leave him indebted to the country.

He revealed that he has made practical contributions to the home country by carrying out a range of environmental projects aimed at building a greener, cleaner, and more beautiful country.

Among these projects, two notable ones include Da Phuoc Integrated Waste Management Facility in Ho Chi Minh City which has a total investment of over US$200 million and the Green Technology Park (GTP) in the Mekong Delta province of Long An that has a total investment of US$500 million.

When the GTP project comes into operation, the park is expected to handle different types of waste for Ho Chi Minh City, Long An province, and other localities throughout the southern key economic zone with a design capacity reaching 44,000 tonnes of garbage per day.

“It is a matter of course that profit is the top priority for investors. I have had a wealth of opportunities to invest and make profits in the US and other countries but I decided to inject money in Vietnam to make contribution to the country’s development,” said Duong.

Recognising that waste treatment has been not effectively handled in urban areas, Duong has accepted the risks by investing hundreds of millions of US$ to build the Da Phuoc Integrated Waste Management Facility in Ho Chi Minh City and the Green Technology Park in Long An.

With the motto of sustainable investment in order to improve the environment for the community, Da Phuoc Integrated Waste Management Facility has applied a procedure to handle waste that is in line with the US standards transferred from the parent company CWS.

Most notably, effective investment into the facility has been reflected in the VWS recently being granted two certificates, including ISO 9001 on quality control and ISO 14001 on environmental management.

To date, the company has treated over 17 million tonnes of waste for Ho Chi Minh City and continued to speed up work on the Long An Green Technology Park so it comes into operation soon.

According to Duong, Vietnam remains an attractive investment destination for investors due to its high-quality workforce and favourable investment climate.

“I will generate additional jobs for people and make further contributions to protecting environment in the homeland by the waste treatment project at the Da Phuoc Integrated Waste Management Facility,” said Duong outlined.

At present, Duong, who is also president of Vietnam-American Business Association, has exchanged ideas on the initiative with Vietnamese diplomatic officials based in the US who can support the project.

Along with doing business, Duong has provided financial support to poor people by organising several charity schemes. This includes building bridges to improve infrastructure in rural areas and setting up funds to help farmers escape poverty, as well as offering medical check-ups for residents in remote areas.

Furthermore, he has always shown his great concern for naval soldiers and those stationed in border areas by presenting meaningful gifts to them.

With 2020 representing a challenging year for the business community due to the adverse impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the CWS in the US and VWS in Vietnam were no exception to these challenges. However, the CWS in the US has presented 40,000 face masks N95 and placed an order of an additional 80,000 fabric masks and 1.5 million medical masks as a gift from Vietnam to the American people.

In addition, the CWS also presented US$100,000 to the COVID-19 prevention fund through the Vietnam’s Consulate General in San Francisco in April, 2020.

Domestically, the VWS has also donated VND200 million to the country’s prevention work in response to calls from the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee of HCM City, as well as supporting residents hardest hit by saline intrusion and drought in recent times.

On November 8, 2020, Duong also granted US$120,000 to Vietnam’s Consulate General in San Francisco as a means of providing assistance to residents in flood-hit areas in the central region. During the handover ceremony, the Vietnam-US Business Association also donated US$51,000 in support of flood victims.

A patriotic member of the overseas Vietnamese community highlighted Duong’s great contributions to Vietnam through building waste treatment facilities locally and deploying a number of charity programmes in provinces and cities nationwide, adding that behind his dynamism, sharpness, and courage, is a warm heart for the homeland.