The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam handed over six electric trucks to the People’s Committee of Hue City in central Thua Thien-Hue Province on Wednesday for a pilot scheme to replace petrol-powered waste collection vehicles with environment-friendly alternatives.

The electric trucks are part of the UNDP-implemented ‘Catalyzing a Sustainable Shift Towards E-Mobility in Vietnam’ project, which is supported by the government of Japan with an aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by enhancing the ecosystem for e-mobility and green transport at the national level. 

Thanks to its participation in the project, Hue City will serve as a model to showcase the feasibility and benefits of green transportation. 

The project also supports the development of a national ecosystem for electric vehicles, including inputs to the national road map, policies, incentives, and charging infrastructure plans.

“The pilot replacement of some waste collection vehicles and garbage trucks with electric ones aligns with the orientation, the goals, and the desire of both Hue City and Thua Thien-Hue Province toward green public transport system development,” Vo Le Nhat, chairman of the People’s Committee of Hue City, said at Wednesday’s handover ceremony.

Kiyoshi Shimonishi, Japanese Deputy Consul General in Da Nang City, which borders Thua Thien-Hue, stated that the government of Japan is committed to supporting Vietnam’s efforts in energy transition, such as biomass power generation, hydroelectricity, ammonia, carbon capture, usage, and storage through the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC). 

Japan will also collaborate with partner countries to assist Vietnam in reducing carbon emissions using renewable energy and other mechanisms under the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). 

The electric garbage truck project is a step toward building policies and supporting frameworks to promote the widespread reduction of carbon emissions in the transportation sector.

During the handover ceremony, Patrick Haverman, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Vietnam, expressed his appreciation for the cooperation and leadership of Thua Thien-Hue Province in the green transport transition and the great efforts to accelerate the introduction of six e-trucks for waste collection.

The UNDP also sponsored concessional loans to encourage people to buy electric vehicles.

As a result, 185 electric vehicles have been purchased in the first round of loan reimbursement, helping develop modalities for e-bike sharing in Hue City.

“Promoting new and cleaner transport vehicles can bring sustainable benefits in many ways, and the pilot initiatives on solutions for e-mobility will be able to paint a clear picture of these benefits while also increasing social acceptance, defining existing barriers, and gathering lessons learned and evidence for policy formulation and wider replication,” Haverman said.

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