Vietnamese government officials and experts
have raised concerns over the pollution caused by foreign-invested
manufacturing facilities and called for implementation of stricter regulations.
The Vietnamese government and experts have aired concerns over the damage
foreign-invested production facilities have caused to the environment. They
called for the adoption of stricter regulations, especially after the
Formosa-linked fish die-off in four central coastal provinces.
Lengthy
List of Polluting Facilities
The mass fish deaths caused by toxic
discharge from Taiwanese conglomerate Formosa’s steel mill in the central
province of Ha Tinh has driven huge attention domestically and overseas. The
worst-ever incident in Viet Nam has sounded alarm bells over the fact that Viet
Nam risks becoming a technology dump. Since Viet Nam opened up its economy to
foreign investors some decades ago, local residents have been victims of
contamination caused by sizable projects. On the notorious list are Taiwan’s
monosodium glutamate (MSG) producer Vedan, steel maker Formosa, thermal power
plant Vinh Tan 2 with Chinese technology and Hong Kong’s Lee&Man paper
mill. In anticipation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement,
overseas companies, particularly those from China, have been massively pouring
capital into fiber, textile projects, forming big textile hubs. Meanwhile, Long
An I, a coal-fired power plant invested South Korean constructor by Daewoo
E&C in the southern province of Long An, has recently made local headlines.
The USD2.7-billion power plant, located just 30 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh
City, is a potential threat to locals’ health and some have even expressed
concern it could become a second “Formosa” mill. Nguyen Le Ninh, a scientist from Ho Chi
Minh City’s Fatherland Front, was quoted by the Thanh Nien newspaper as saying
that a coal-fired power plant, despite using the cutting-edge technology, can
be heavily harmful to the environment. “Has the local government fully assessed
its environmental impact as well as its efficiency?” he asked. Senior economist
Pham Chi Lan called for a halt of the power plant as many countries have
limited or shut down this kind of technology due to its environmental
unfriendliness.
“Pollution
Haven”
A survey conducted by the Ha Noi-based
Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) showed that an increasing
number of foreign companies are investing in polluting industries such as
textile, leather and footwear and chemicals. Up to two thirds of
foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) in Viet Nam are operating in low added
value and energy-consuming sectors, and can be large sources of emission. According
to the Ministry of Science and Technology, just 5% of FIEs use high
technologies, while 80% apply average ones and 14% use low technologies. “With
loose environmental standards, Viet Nam seems to be successful in becoming a
“haven” of contaminating projects,” said Do Thien Anh Tuan from the Fulbright
Economics Teaching Program.
“No Trade of Environment for FDI”. At a
government teleconference on environmental protection on August 24, Minister of
Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha said FIEs account for 70% of Viet
Nam’s export turnover and 59% of imports. They also contribute to 70% of the
nation’s economic growth. However, FIEs are moving to energy- and
resources-intensive industries such as metallurgy, ship repair and maintenance,
garment and textile, footwear, paper and chemicals production, Ha said. Ha
acknowledged that Viet Nam tended to relax environmental protection criteria to
compete with regional peers in a bid to attract foreign investment at all
costs, leading to huge damage to the environment. A number of overseas
investors are taking advantage of Vietnamese shortcomings to bring in
out-of-date, energy-consuming and labor and resources-intensive technologies to
maximize their profits, Ha noted. Speaking at the conference, Prime Minister
Nguyen Xuan Phuc stressed that the current thorny pollution situation is the
breakout of a long period of development. “It is now time to change the mindset
of development. [We] cannot trade the environment for economic benefits that
affect the people’s peaceful life,” he noted.
Bizlive
– September 5 – http://bizlive.vn/biznews/vietnam-sounds-alarm-bells-on-polluting-fdi-projects-1945950.html
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