Green" gradually becomes a competitive condition
At the seminar "Green industrial park development: Removing bottlenecks, welcoming new opportunities" organized by Lao Dong Newspaper on the morning of August 27, experts and businesses said that it is necessary to soon complete mechanisms and policies to make green transformation a competitive advantage and motivation to attract investment.
Mr. Le Anh Dung - Deputy General Director of Hanaka Group - said that from the reality of implementing the Gia Binh II industrial park (IP) project in Bac Ninh province, it shows that foreign-invested enterprises (FDI) are increasingly demanding higher standards for infrastructure quality, environmental standards and the ability to provide synchronous industrial services.
They set very high requirements for wastewater treatment and environmental standards right from the site survey stage," said the Deputy General Director of Hanaka Group.
Mr. Le Trung Dung - Business Director of Hung Yen Group - a unit that is the investor of infrastructure for many industrial parks and clusters in Bac Ninh and Hung Yen - said that through the process of contacting investors, the "green" factor is increasingly being concerned, especially in the group of FDI enterprises participating in the global supply chain.
When choosing a project location, besides location, transportation, rental price and electricity source, FDI investors are increasingly demanding high levels of wastewater treatment, environment and ESG standards" - Mr. Le Trung Dung said.
Also exchanging at the seminar, Dr. Phan Duc Hieu - Delegate of the 16th National Assembly, Specialized Member of the Economic and Finance Committee of the National Assembly - said that if green transformation is slow, Vietnam is at risk of reducing its advantage in the competition to attract high-quality FDI capital.
Global corporations are currently not only interested in costs or location, but are increasingly placing requirements on environment, energy, emissions and supply chain standards. If Vietnam's industrial infrastructure and businesses cannot keep up, investors can choose another location.
Green transformation is not just an environmental story, but has become a national competitiveness issue" - Dr. Phan Duc Hieu said.
Need a clear set of criteria for green and ecological industrial parks
One of the major difficulties raised by businesses at the seminar was the initial investment cost. Green infrastructure requires large capital for energy, wastewater treatment, waste management, technology and solutions to use resources effectively, while the capital recovery time is often long. Business representatives also said that a clear set of criteria and more incentive mechanisms are needed for investors of green and ecological industrial park infrastructure.
We really hope to soon have a clear and unified set of criteria for green industrial parks and ecological industrial parks, and at the same time linked with specific incentives. Businesses need to know clearly what standards they invest in are recognized at what level and what incentive policies they are entitled to. When criteria and policies go together, businesses will easily calculate the investment problem" - Mr. Le Anh Dung - Deputy General Director of Hanaka Group - said.
From a policy perspective, Dr. Phan Duc Hieu believes that it is necessary to shift from the mindset of only "setting requirements" to both requirements and creating motivation for businesses. According to him, first of all, there need to be clear, measurable criteria for green industrial parks and ecological industrial parks, and at the same time build a roadmap suitable for each group of industrial parks. Credit policies also need to create conditions for projects with large investment needs but long capital recovery times.
Notably, Dr. Phan Duc Hieu said that it is necessary to soon review and amend Decree 35/2022/ND-CP of the Government on the management of industrial parks and economic zones, to update new requirements for the development of green industrial parks, ecological industrial parks and attract high-quality investment.
According to Dr. Phan Duc Hieu, when the standards are clear, the roadmap is clear and the benefits are clear enough, businesses will have a basis to proactively invest. This is also considered a condition for Vietnamese IPs to shift from competing mainly with land funds and rental prices to competing with infrastructure quality, resource efficiency, environmental standards and the ability to meet the requirements of global supply chains.
