At the meeting, Vuong Thi Minh Hieu, deputy director of the Ministry of Planning and Investment's (MPI) Department for Economic Zones Management, reported the achievements during the implementation of the project last year.

Accordingly, the project steering committee made efforts to accelerate all activities relating to support for building institutional policies for the development of these parks. Furthermore, the steering committee was eager to conduct technical assistance for converting traditional industrial zones (IZs) into the ecological model.

“The regulations about eco-industrial parks were incorporated in Decree No.35/2022/ND-CP on prescribing the management of IZs,” Hieu said.

The Eco-Industrial Parks Intervention in Vietnam Programme is funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), in cooperation with the MPI. This project supports the development and implementation of the eco-industrial park model in the country.

UNIDO will help Vietnam devise new standards for eco-industrial parks, access green financial resources, and ensure sustainability in terms of institutions and resources for management agencies.

The committee implemented technical support for management authorities and manufacturers in IZs, and showed support for connecting these zones to urban areas. In addition, the project steering committee conducted training courses to improve the legal and technical capacity of localities, industrial real estate developers, and tenants.

Regarding the planned activities for this year, Alessandro Flammi, project coordinator at UNIDO, reported that they will continue to support relevant authorities to complete the implementation of Decree No.35.

“The steering committee will finalise its report on identifying urban-industrial symbiosis opportunities and will continue to implement and monitor these opportunities. Moreover, we will develop feasibility studies as needed, and facilitate access to finance for selected business cases,” Flammi said.

“The budget is tight, so the scheme will have to prioritise activities. However, we think that the project will be extended until April 2024 if necessary to avoid losing momentum, and allow a smooth transition between the current phase and the next, which is expected to start in January 2024,” he added.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc said that the ministry is willing to cooperate with SECO and UNIDO to build model eco-industrial parks and then spread the model across the country.

“It is good news that many international organisations have expressed interest in supporting Vietnam as it promotes the eco-industrial model. We also expect that power sources will be added to accelerate the transition from traditional IPs to eco-industrial parks,” Ngoc said.

The project was approved by the MPI in 2020 with thanks to financial aid from SECO and UNIDO of about $1.82 million.