Japan pushes eco-urban area growth partnership
The Japanese government will help Vietnam develop and operate its eco-urban areas through the use of new technologies, credit and provision of training and sharing of experiences, according to Japanese experts in a recent meeting in Hanoi.
In a seminar to discuss on eco-city development and carbon reducing technologies, Japanese experts confirmed that assistance from Japan was aimed from 2020 to 2015, with the focus to transfer the experiences and operating practices developed in Japan over the last decade while taking into account Vietnam’s specific characteristics.
According to Do Viet Chien, director of the Urban Development Department under the Ministry of Construction (MoC), the cooperation programme between Vietnam and Japan to develop eco-city and non-carbon urban areas has been in implementation for many years.
The focus of this programme is on achieving a greener living environment and applying public infrastructure solutions, transferring technologies for water and solid waste treatment, the promotion of LED lighting and smart-biking systems and to explore how to provide credit for building environmentally-friendly infrastructure network.
Japanese specialists spoke about Japan’s eco-urban area standards, applied technologies and shared ideas about how to bring technologies like solar energy to Vietnam’s urban areas.
“Co-operation with Japan has seen more finance being pumped into eco-urban areas and cities in Vietnam”, Chien said.
The issue of developing eco-cities in Vietnam has long been a topic of discussion and Vietnamese government and companies.
During the past years, many Japanese private developers led by the Japanese Conference for overseas Development of Eco-cities (J-CODE), have visited Vietnam to seek opportunities to co-develop eco-cities.
According to Bui Manh Tien, deputy director of the Hanoi Architecture and Zoning Department, Hoa Lac Urban Area, Phuc Tho and Quoc Oai eco Towns, are all potential sites for Japanese investors to consider.
Japanese developers are reported to be keeping an eye on potential project sites in Binh Duong New City in the southern province of Binh Duong and in Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnam has experienced a rapid urbanisation process. According to the MoC, as of this year’s end, the country will have 850 cities and this figure will reach 1,000 in 2015. With the fast increasing population in urban areas, increasing services and processing waste are offering major challenges.
Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Haiphong, Danang, and Can Tho are already targeted cities for eco-development. Other pipelines projects are mapped in other province such as Bac Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, and Hoa Binh.
According to a prime ministerial decree issued in April 2009, Vietnam’s socio-economic development master plan until 2015 must develop urban system with modern, high-quality and environmentally-friendly technology and infrastructure.