Hue to build foundation for green industry

In 2025, the Hue City People's Committee issued the Plan for Greenhouse Gas Emission Mitigation in the field of waste management within the city until 2030, aiming to realize the goal of greenhouse gas emission reduction in accordance with Viet Nam’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and the Action Plan for Methane Emission Reduction until 2030, contributing to the realization of the goal of achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050.

To achieve this, Hue City prioritizes projects with low emission levels, clean technology, waste reuse, and circularity. It encourages enterprises and projects to apply technologies, production processes, and service provision that result in low greenhouse gas emissions in the waste sector.

Many important milestones

Hue City is focusing on developing green and clean industries to attract investment and generate high added value while ensuring environmental balance.

In Phu Bai Ward, with a total area of over 460 hectares and an investment capital of approximately 2,600 billion VND, the Gilimex Hue Industrial Park has become a key highlight in the locality’s efforts to develop a green industrial model.

The industrial park not only focuses on attracting investors who use clean technology but also utilizes non-fired bricks for all factory workshop items, minimizing the use of additives. The green space ratio accounts for about 22% (approximately 65 hectares in reality), which is a substantial figure considering the current minimum required green space area in industrial parks in Vietnam is 10%.

Also at this location, a centralized wastewater treatment plant was invested in synchronously and modernly, costing 130 billion VND, with a capacity of 7,600 m3/day and night. The significant investment in wastewater treatment infrastructure not only helps ensure compliance with strict environmental standards but also demonstrates Gilimex Hue Industrial Park's commitment to building a sustainable production model, minimizing its impact on the ecosystem, and creating a long-term foundation for green industrial development.

Mr. Phan Dinh, Deputy General Director of Gilimex Industrial Park Joint Stock Company, stated that the development of green industry is an inevitable trend, especially in the context where environmental protection and emission reduction are increasingly tightened. Businesses must not only comply with legal regulations but also proactively transform to align with the global supply chain that is moving toward Net Zero. Therefore, for industrial parks to achieve long-term development, in addition to investing in synchronous infrastructure, emphasis must be placed on landscape and a clean environment.

"To ensure the industrial park is green, clean, and beautiful, the company has been focusing on developing technical infrastructure and creating environmental landscape space. The IP has allocated a large area of land for greenery systems, water surfaces, and traffic roads. Additionally, alongside the internal roads, the company has also planned to build canals to drain water during the rainy season, regulate air temperature in the summer, and balance the ecological environment.

Upon completion, the entire industrial park will have perimeter walls, lighting, and integrated security monitoring equipment to ensure safety and security. The sectors prioritized for manufacturing operations primarily involve advanced technology, high techniques, and clean energy in the production of electricity, electronics, auto parts, medical and dental equipment, products made from rubber and plastic, and the processing of food and beverages, etc.," said Mr. Dinh.

Parallel to the industrial parks, many enterprises have boldly invested and led the way in green production. Hue Textile and Garment Joint Stock Company (Huegatex, Thanh Thuy Ward, Hue City) recently broke ground on the construction of a 3-story Garment Factory built according to the LEED standard of the U.S. Green Building Council, aiming to 'green' the factory, reduce CO2 emissions, and minimize negative environmental impacts.

A leader of Huegatex said that, thanks to the attention from Hue City and the company's determination, the 3-story Garment Factory will prioritize the use of renewable energy by installing a solar power system, using 100% LED lighting to reduce electricity consumption, conserving water resources through efficient sanitary fixtures and utilizing recycled water for the irrigation system. The factory will also use an electric boiler system instead of a biomass-fueled boiler, completely cutting down emissions released into the environment from boiler combustion, and the wastewater treatment system will partially recycle treated wastewater (meeting standards) for firefighting activities and watering the greenery.

"Once completed, the factory will operate under a green, high-quality production model, meeting the sustainable development requirements of customers and the market. Four years ago, the company set a goal to reduce emissions, wastewater, and waste by 1% per unit of product and has implemented effective solutions. Currently, the company continues to pursue a 3% reduction in electricity consumption by deploying rooftop solar power systems and investing in an automated monitoring system to ensure wastewater meets national standards. Furthermore, the company also produces recycled fiber products, fabrics utilizing recycled fiber, and garments made from materials containing recycled fiber components. For the boiler and heating systems that provide steam for dyeing and weaving operations, Huegatex uses biomass materials such as sawdust and rice husks to fuel the boilers to reduce emissions," a leader of Huegatex shared.

The Kim Long Motor Hue Complex Project for manufacturing and assembly (located within the Chan May - Lang Co Economic Zone) by KIM LONG MOTOR Hue Joint Stock Company is also a prime example of attracting green industry to the former Imperial capital region in recent times.

The Phu Bai Brewery (located in Phu Bai Industrial Park, Hue City) of the Carlsberg Group is operating on I-REC certified renewable electricity, combined with biomass energy, and wastewater treated using advanced filtration technology. The factory's goals are to achieve zero waste-to-landfill by 2025 and reach Net Zero in production by 2028. Carlsberg Vietnam is also aiming for 100% reusable or recyclable packaging by 2026.

With a scale of approximately 165 hectares and an investment capital of over 25,655 billion VND, the engine manufacturing plant achieves a 90% automation level. It is regarded as one of the most advanced production lines currently in Viet Nam. The enterprise has built a complex comprising various plants specialized in manufacturing and assembling automobiles, a complex of mechanical plants, a plant for manufacturing engines and powertrains, a complex of plants producing automotive components and spare parts, a bonded warehouse. It plans to develop plants for semiconductor technology and electronic chip production to serve the development of the domestic and global automotive industries.

Kim Long Motor Hue not only aims to manufacture vehicles but also collaborates with Hue City to build a green supporting industrial ecosystem, tied to the local sustainable development goals. This project symbolizes the strong transformation trend in the automotive manufacturing industry, boasting the highest localization rate in Viet Nam and Southeast Asia, playing a key role in creating an automotive industrial ecosystem, promoting technology transfer, enhancing production capacity, and generating thousands of high-quality jobs.

Heading towards sustainable development

Mr. Phan Quy Phuong - Vice Chairman of the Hue City People's Committee emphasized that, in the context where the globe is moving towards a green, circular, and low-emission economy, Hue clearly identifies the green transition as one of the key tasks for breakthrough development. Over the past period, the city has synchronously implemented various solutions to both develop the economy without sacrificing the environment and has achieved positive results. In investment attraction, the city focuses on developing green industries, clean industries, and high-tech industries to create high added value while ensuring environmental balance.

According to Mr. Phuong, to achieve the goal of green transformation, Hue City has issued a series of municipal support policies to assist and encourage businesses to shift toward high-tech industries, green industries, and technological innovations that save energy and resources, use clean fuels, implement wastewater recycling, and minimize environmental emissions.

"Hue City is committed to creating the most favorable conditions to attract investment projects in green industries. In the coming period, the city will focus on planning, expanding land funds for industrial support services, and developing green and ecological industrial parks. We will complete mechanisms and policies, review and introduce incentives and support related to taxes, land, credit, and other forms of assistance for high-tech and green industrial projects. Efforts will also be made to improve the business investment environment, simplify administrative procedures, and upgrade transportation infrastructure, seaports, airports, electricity, water supply, telecommunications, logistics, and industrial park facilities to meet businesses' production needs. In addition, we will emphasize the development of a high-quality workforce," Mr. Phuong emphasized.

According to Mr. Le Truong Luu, Chairman of the Hue City People's Council (and former Secretary of the City Party Committee), based on the view that the environment and heritage should not be sacrificed for economic development, Hue City has recently rejected several industrial projects that posed potential environmental pollution risks.

"In addition to controlling investment, Hue City is also actively implementing solutions to reduce carbon emissions, aligning with the Government's Net Zero goal by 2050. This not only helps Hue reduce greenhouse gases but also creates momentum for sustainable economic development," Mr. Luu emphasized.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, former Director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics, stated that green transition, green development, and sustainable development are trends and vital factors for all nations and localities.

"Hue needs to establish appropriate green development strategies, introduce green-oriented investment attraction policies, and must be bold in proposing changes and dismantling outdated policy systems. In the upcoming planning, I hope Hue will take the lead in the green transition nationwide," Mr. Thien shared.

Hue City possesses many advantages for developing green industry, such as being located on the East-West Economic Corridor, having a synchronous transportation system and Phu Bai International Airport, possessing a high-quality human resource pool from universities, colleges, and vocational training institutions, and having Industrial Parks planned to prioritize low-emission, environmentally friendly industries.

$ 1 = VND 26.372 - Source: Vietcombank.