HÀ NỘI — The second training programme on eco-industrial parks was held yesterday in Hà Nội, as part of a US$53-million project to set industrial production in Việt Nam on the path of sustainable development.

Nearly three decades since the country’s Đổi mới (reform), the contributions of industrial parks to the growing economy of Việt Nam is indisputable. However, they are also responsible for many environmental issues that adversely affect the public and even offset their own economic achievements. This is why the Vietnamese Government has considered the study and implementation of eco-industrial parks – whereby environmental quality and economic development can go hand-in-hand – “an urgent matter.”

The efforts were materialised by the Prime Minister-approved project "Implementation of Eco-Industrial Park Initiative for Sustainable Industrial Zones in Việt Nam", launched four years ago with the help from the United Nations’ Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). The initiative aimed to convert traditional industrial zones (IZs) into eco-industrial zone (EIZs). Pilot models are currently deployed in four cities and provinces – Hà Nội, Ninh Bình, Đà Nẵng and Cần Thơ, with the goals of cutting 182,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases and 6 million cu.m of wastewater per year.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the training course, Dr Bùi Nguyên Khánh, deputy director of the Graduate Academy of Social Sciences, stressed the importance of education and training in the implementation of eco-industrial park models in Việt Nam. He said the academy will arm trainees with in-depth knowledge on sustainable development, efficient management and use of resources, and social affairs.

Trần Duy Đông, director of the Department for Economic Zone Management, under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), expects the training course to disseminate the fairly novel concepts and practices of eco-industrial zones, to help ease the implementation of such zones in the future.

During the training course, discussions on theoretical and practical issues on the conversion to eco-industrial zones in Việt Nam will be prominent, with topics ranging from engagement between businesses and the local community to help drive down production costs and alleviate environment stress, to live demonstrations of green and low-emission technologies in industrial zones.

The trainees will also take part in a field trip to Hải Phòng, one of the major industrial areas in the north, to gain hands-on experience in the operations of industrial zones, and especially the greening technologies being implemented at the Đình Vu industrial zone.

According to the Asian Development Bank’s eco-industrial park handbook for developing economies, the design of an eco-industrial park requires integration into natural systems, efficient energy systems, efficient materials flow and waste management, efficient use of water flows, effective management, consideration of the environment during construction and rehabilitation work, and integration into the host community. — VNS