The Renewable Energy in Sustainable Industrial Parks conference was organised by Haiphong Economic Zones Management Authority in collaboration with the Embassy of the United Kingdom, the nation's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Star Do Group.

Director of Haiphong Economic Zones Management Authority Le Trung Kien asserted the green development demand of Haiphong city and its industrial parks and economic zones. Photo: Thanh Son

Attendees at the conference were Harry Rawicz-Szczerbo, head of the Trade and Investment Department at the UK Embassy; Le Trung Kien, member of Haiphong Party Committee's Standing Board and director of Haiphong Economic Zones Management Authority; Mark Shorrock, chairman of Shire Oak International; Nguyen Thanh Phuong, CEO of Sao Do Group; and representatives of Haiphong's departments and agencies, investors, and businesses.

Mark Shorrock, chairman of Shire Oak International, talked about the renewable energy demand of businesses in the RE100 group. Photo: Thu Le

At the conference, Kien asserted that the development of renewable energy is an inevitable trend and a mandatory requirement of the current energy industry in Vietnam as well as around the world.

The recent COP26, to which Vietnam strongly committed, has also set a target of zero net emissions by the middle of this century.

Haiphong is determined to become Vietnam's leading city in industrialisation and modernisation; building a modern, intelligent, and sustainable development industry. Therefore, industrial parks (IPs) and economic zones in the city aim for sustainable development.

As one of 13 active IPs, the non-tariff zone and Nam Dinh Vu IP, from their initial establishment, have aimed to focus on environmental protection and sustainable development.

Currently, this IP attracts 48 projects with the total investment of $1.8 billion including 19 foreign-invested projects worth $430.25 million.

The representative of Sao Do Group (in the middle) signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Shire Oak International Group (left) and Nam Dinh Vu Electricity Trading JSC to develop renewable energy

Setting goals of building a favourable destination with competitive advantages from renewable energy sources for production, Sao Do Group worked and signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Shire Oak International and Nam Dinh Vu Electric Trading JSC.

“Through this cooperation, Sao Do Group becomes Haiphong's leading IP investor in renewable energy,” said Nguyen Thanh Phuong, general director of Sao Do Group.

Shire Oak International is an experienced investor in developing large-scale renewable energy projects in developing countries and emerging economies and has developed many renewable energy projects worldwide with a value of more than $2 billion.

In Vietnam, Shire Oak International has developed an extensive portfolio of solar projects. Partnering with businesses and educational institutions across the region, Shire Oak is currently building a rooftop solar system with a capacity of up to 650MW in Vietnam worth $450 million.

The conference focused on analysing the demand for renewable energy from manufacturers. Photo: Thu Le

Mark Shorrock, chairman of Shire Oak International said, “I have worked with quite a few global businesses in many different countries and they all have the same vision and are all businesses in the RE100 group. Thus, localities or industrial parks that want to receive capital flows from these RE100 enterprises should prepare for an investment environment with ready and continuos developing renewable energy.”

Shorrock added, “We focus on IP investment because secondary investors need renewable energy sources for production to achieve the targets of environmentally friendly export products to fastidious markets such as Europe, the EU, and the US."

Sao Do Group's Phuong shared that the transition from fossil energy sources to renewable ones is a fierce race among countries towards sustainable development. In this race, Vietnam and domestic industrial parks want to become a destination to receive clean capital flows. "Therefore, renewable energy strategies need to be accelerated," Phuong said.

Nam Dinh Vu IP is one of the key projects of Sao Do Group in Haiphong city, with a scale of 1,329 hectares in Dinh Vu-Cat Hai Economic Zone.

Investors choosing Nam Dinh Vu IP enjoy the best preferential policies in Vietnam today. Typically, land rents are exempted until the end of the project implementation period, and investors enjoy the average corporate income tax rate of 5 per cent for a period of 15 years. Currently, Sao Do Group has completed the construction of about 600 hectares of infrastructure, attracting over 40 projects.