More IZs focusing on environmental protection

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)
The country is now home to 375 IZs on a total area of nearly 97,800 ha, of which 280 are in operation and home to 9,114 domestic and 9,022 foreign-invested projects.

Deputy head of the National Assembly (NA)’s Committee on Science, Technology and Environment Tran Van Minh said that as of February, there were 14 decrees from the Government, 17 decisions from the Prime Minister, 54 circulars and joint circulars, and 48 national technical standards relating to the environment.

Local authorities have also issued a raft of legal documents on environmental protection at IZs. Twenty-nine localities nationwide have also issued cooperative mechanisms on State management at IZs and industrial clusters as well as eight local standards.

Of the 280 operational IZs, 250 or 89.28 percent have concentrated wastewater treatment systems.

All IZs have conducted environmental impact assessments and formulated detailed environmental protection schemes. As many as 219 zones have installed automated wastewater monitoring systems. The wastewater treatment facilities in the IZs can treat more than 1 million cu.m each day.

In accordance with Decree No. 82/ND-CP, several IZs have switched to ecological models meeting international standards, attracting high-tech, eco-friendly industrial production and service projects.

Four IZs nationwide are piloting ecological models - Khanh Phu and Gian Khau in the northern province of Ninh Binh, Hoa Khanh in the central city of Da Nang, and Tra Noc in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho.

From 2015-2019, ministries and authorities in cities and provinces imposed fines totaling 301 billion VND (13 million USD) on more than 4,600 establishments, including IZs, for legal violations in environmental protection./.

VNA