Green industrial park conversion needs to be suitable for capacity and have a roadmap

(Dan Tri) - Experts assess that green industrial parks are an inevitable trend, but there needs to be a roadmap and consideration of smart transformation that is suitable for the local economy.

At the Vietnam Industrial Park Forum 2024 event held today (December 19) , Mr. Nguyen Chi Toan - Vice President of the Vietnam Industrial Real Estate Association (VIREA) - said that the green industrial trend in the world has developed very early.

The implementation of eco-industrial parks, which began in the 1980s in Denmark and in the late 1990s in China, has contributed significantly to the implementation of the circular economy, contributing to the goal of environmental protection.

Implementing the National Strategy on Green Growth, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 2030), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26), the conversion of conventional industrial zones into green industrial zones and ecological industrial zones is an inevitable development direction. Denmark, the US, South Korea, China… are typical names for the greening of industry.

According to Mr. Toan, Vietnam is committed to joining 150 countries in the world to bring net emissions to zero by 2050 and reduce methane emissions causing the greenhouse effect by 30% by 2030.

Therefore, developing green industrial parks is an action to move towards the goal of Net-zero Carbon through activities to improve production efficiency, reduce energy consumption and develop green spaces in industrial parks.

In the current situation, most new investments plan to build factories that meet green, smart and sustainable development standards. Investors' needs require infrastructure and environmental standards to meet ecological and green development criteria.

Sharing the same view, Dr. Bui Thanh Minh - Deputy Director of the Office of Private Economic Development Research (Department IV) - said that businesses are forced to transform due to international pressure and the industrial park model has existed for too many years. However, the transformation process must be appropriate to the capacity and roadmap; smart in choosing the approach and thinking about industrial parks that are suitable for the local economy.

Dr. Bui Thanh Minh recommends that green transformation needs a suitable roadmap (Photo: Organizing Committee).

Mr. Minh shared that by the end of 2023, Vietnam will have 416 industrial parks established with an area of ​​over 89,000 hectares. Of these, 296 industrial parks will be in operation, with an occupancy rate of over 72%.

However, the operation of the industrial park is currently facing some difficulties. Land funds with favorable locations in key industrial parks are increasingly scarce, and infrastructure is not yet synchronized (the North is more attractive than the South despite higher prices, because of better infrastructure).

In addition, businesses also face difficulties with legal procedures, saying that they are committed to sustainable green transformation but lack criteria. The transformation capacity of businesses is also far from the requirements, posing great challenges.

A representative of a unit raised the discussion opinion that the conversion of the current ecological industrial park is facing difficulties and shortcomings in implementation. For example, the enterprise converting wastewater has treated the wastewater to meet the standards for discharge into the environment but is not allowed to water the plants.

Discussing sustainable solutions to help industrial park businesses become more favorable, Mr. Phan Duc Hieu - Standing Member of the National Assembly's Economic Committee - said the Government has a plan to develop a law on industrial parks. He said that this law is necessary for development, industrial parks need to build an ecosystem such as social infrastructure, technical infrastructure to fully meet the criteria.

However, some opinions at the event did not support the industrial park law. Because the law imposes a lot of influence on businesses. Opinions suggest that instead of having a new law, we should contribute ideas and amend existing laws.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/bat-dong-san/chuyen-doi-khu-cong-nghiep-xanh-can-phu-hop-nang-luc-co-lo-trinh-20241219133656585.htm