Gov’t to launch green construction programme
Update: 10/02/2009
A programme to construct a series of energy-efficient official buildings will be launched in 2009, announced Nguyen Dinh Hiep, chief of the programme’s office.
Official buildings are defined as those constructed and operated using funds from the state budget, Hiep said.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) are currently engaged in the preparation of guidelines for energy saving measures in official buildings, in accordance with the Prime Minister’s directive No. 19 on the issue.
The biggest obstacle is the funding for the improvement of energy systems in existing, aging buildings, which is expected to be very costly, Hiep said.
In 2006, the Ministry of Construction issued guidelines regarding the design of energy-efficient buildings, and the application of these guidelines to constructing new buildings takes time, he added.
In 2008, 28 of Vietnam’s 100 energy-efficient buildings qualified for entry into a competition for environmentally-friendly buildings meeting ASEAN standards, though just three of them were awarded a prize.