Air, water, solid waste pollution in Vietnam
Vietnam faces increasing environmental challenges including air, water, and solid waste pollution. Major contributing factors are a large and growing population, rapid urbanization and industrialization, and weak law enforcement.
Water supply:
Only about 70 percent of the Vietnamese population has access to potable water. Clean water shortage is most serious in the Mekong Delta due to rising sea levels. Salt concentration levels in the groundwater are far beyond recommended levels. The salinity intrusion also affects agriculture production, including rice, fruit and aquaculture. The Government intends to supply clean water to all cities and towns and to limit water loss to less than 15% by 2025 from 27% today.
Wastewater treatment:
A majority of urban areas in Vietnam do not have wastewater treatment facilities. Only six out of 53 provinces/cities in Vietnam have centralized urban wastewater treatment plants with total capacity of 565,000 cubic meters per day. The total amount of untreated wastewater in the whole country is around 1.5 billion m3, of which about 1 billion m3 in urban areas and industrial zones.
Industrial waste water treatment is a critical need as 75 percent of waste water is being discharged directly into lakes and rivers without treatment.
Government plans for centralized municipal wastewater treatment and collection systems in all cities by 2025, with 70-80 percent of municipal wastewater collected and treated. Priority will be given to the use of official development assistance funds for the development of urban water drainage systems, especially in major cities and in areas prone to natural disasters.
The total investment required to meet sewage and drainage system needs throughout the country is estimated at $3.4 billion.
Waste management:
80% of solid waste is being buried at more than 450 landfills, only 120 of which are compliant with sanitary regulations. The remaining waste is burned or composted. Annual solid waste volume increases by around 14% per year. Total waste is around 44 million tons annually.
Recycling only accounted for 20-25 percent of the collected waste. Treatment and recycling of solid and toxic waste has yet to meet standard requirements.
The government plans to have 85% of urban and 40-50 percent of rural solid waste processed by 2025 and reduce landfill use to below 10%. New technologies to treat less degradable waste to minimize burying waste are encouraged.
If you would like to further evaluate the opportunities related to the Vietnamese cleantech industry, please get in touch with our S-GE Consultant for Southeast Asia, Angela Di Rosa. Contact us now
Vietnam: Cleantech companies from around the world compete in tenders
The cleantech sector in Vietnam is offering significant opportunities for foreign players. The market is attracting companies from US, Germany, EU and other developed countries. Many cleantech programs have been supported by development funds from these countries. These supports help to make their country’s technology and machinery/equipment well-known in Vietnam. Procurements over US$500,000 are typically procured through international competitive bidding.
Local stakeholders Swiss Cleantech SMEs need to know:
- Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment – MONRE http://www.monre.gov.vn/wps/portal/english
- Ministry of Industry and Trade – MOIT http://www.moit.gov.vn/
- Ministry of Construction – MOC http://moc.gov.vn/web/guest/9
- Ministry of Science and Technology – MOST https://www.most.gov.vn/en/Pages/home.aspx
- Water supply and drainages companies
- Urban Environment Companies
- Asian Development Bank https://www.adb.org/
- World Bank http://www.worldbank.org/
- Provincial people’s committees (Hanoi, HCMC, Danang etc…)
Lack of local expertise and manufacturing creates opportunities for Swiss expertise in several sectors
Local expertise and manufacturing capability on cleantech is at low-end. Therefore, advanced technology and equipment from developed countries are extremely in need in Vietnam. There are numerous opportunities for equipment suppliers, engineering and consulting firms. Particularly:
Water supply and treatment
- System design, smart water supply system in big cities like Hanoi, HCMC, Danang. According to Development Master Plan water sector up to 2030 in these big cities, numbers of new water supply and treatment plants will be invested.
- Equipment for water supply (water meters, valves, pumps, motors, water treatment chemicals, water filtration systems, water control and monitoring equipment, etc.)
- Solutions for saline water treatment in Mekong Delta area.
Advanced solid waste treatment
- Waste treatment technologies
- Composting equipment
- Waste-to-Energy and landfill gas recovery
- Recycling process expertise
- Collection services, containers and vehicles
- Sanitary landfill design, maintenance and associated technologies
- Brownfield site remediation design and equipment
- Soil contamination testing and monitoring equipment
Additional technologies needed
- Waste water treatment: water recycling and waste water treatment in industrial zones,
- Irrigation technology for agriculture.
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