The Vietnamese government is poised to spend over US$4.5 million establishing eco-industrial parks throughout the country.

An expert group meeting on eco-industrial parks in Vietnam was organized by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, in coordination with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), in the central province of Quang Nam on Thursday.

The event was intended to discuss the development of eco-industrial parks as well as their specifications and legal bases, according to the Vietnam Government Portal.

Speaking at the event, Tran Duy Dong, head of the Department of Economic Zone Management under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, announced that the government would spend about $4.55 million constructing environment-friendly industrial parks.

The official development assistance (ODA) is funded by the Global Environment Fund (GEF) and the Swiss State Secretariat of Economic Affairs, Dong continued.

The new model will be piloted at several industrial zones in Ninh Binh Province, then Da Nang, and Can Tho City.

During its first phase, the project is aimed at adjusting current technology, applying cleaner production methods, saving energy, and better managing resources at the operational industrial parks.

The facilities will then be transformed into eco-friendly industrial zones.

Newly-built industrial parks throughout the country are also encouraged to follow the model by monitoring their emissions, recycling energy and waste, and ensuring a green environment.

A total of 321 industrial parks have been established in Vietnam, covering a combined area of 90,000 hectares and attracting over $105 billion in foreign investment and VND693 trillion ($31 billion) in domestic investment, Dong was quoted by Dan Tri newswire as saying.

However, none of the mentioned venues are considered eco-friendly, the official continued.

An eco-industrial park is a model in which businesses cooperate with one another and with the local community to reduce waste and pollution, share resources efficiently, and achieve sustainable development, with the intention of increasing economic gains and improving environmental quality.

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