The fruits of economic growth in the Southern
Key Economic Zone (SKEZ) would come to naught if the environment is left
unattended, said a Binh Duong representative. Given fast population growth and
manufacturing expansion, the region is facing serious environmental issues,
said Pham Danh, director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment
of Binh Duong. Speaking at a conference in HCMC on December 23rd on policies
and mechanisms for SKEZ development, Danh said increasingly severe pollution in
the Dong Nai River and rising domestic and industrial solid waste in urban
areas were cause for concern. The Dong Nai River is the third largest in the
nation and a key source of water for household and industrial use in HCMC and
other provinces in the region. However, 1.73 million cubic meters of wastewater
from residential areas and 1.54 million cubic meters from industrial production
activities is discharged into the river. Another issue raised at the conference
was that rapid industrialization and urbanization, along with rapid population
growth, has led to a steep rise in solid waste while there are no solutions for
waste reduction, reuse and recycling. HCMC vice chairman Le Thanh Liem
suggested a SKEZ economic development fund be launched to carry out large
inter-regional or inter-provincial projects. At the conference, HCMC Party
Secretary Dinh La Thang asked local authorities in the SKEZ to review
industry-specific development plans and make them consistent with the regional
master plan to avoid fragmentation and overlap. The SKEZ is facing
unsustainable economic growth, underdeveloped high-tech and supporting
industries and clashes among local development plans in the region. Thang
underlined the need for a development mechanism that fits local and regional
needs. The economic mechanism for the SKEZ should resemble that for a special
economic zone. He called for the Southern Key Economic Zone Council to study
specific policies to attract investment in high-tech and supporting industries,
high-quality services and infrastructure, especially roads and bridges. Deputy
Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong said there were traffic infrastructure
development plans for each locality and the whole region, yet their
implementation had been impeded by the lack of resources. This has led to long
delays. Tran Dinh Thien, Director of the Viet Nam Institute of Economics,
suggested replacing the provincial administration structure with a regional
one. Without exceptional regional institutions and structure, it would be hard
for the SKEZ to take off, he noted.
The Sai
Gon Times Daily – December 26 - http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/51614/SKEZ-urged--to-care-more-about-pollution-control.html
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