Hai Phong is focusing on developing green, environmentally friendly industrial zones and clusters to attract green investment capital, aiming toward sustainable development.
Building green industrial zones and clusters
As a coastal city, Hai Phong is among the most climate-threatened cities globally over the next 60–70 years. Therefore, in recent years, Hai Phong has prioritized developing green industry and eco-industrial zones that meet sustainability standards. Green transition and circular economy development are also goals that many enterprises in the city are actively pursuing. Recently, during a meeting with Hai Phong leaders, representatives of the DEEP C Industrial Zone Complex proposed the construction of a green industrial zone in the Southern Coastal Economic Zone of the city.
Mr. Bruno Jaspaert, General Director of DEEP C, stated that the complex aims to become the first industrial zone in Vietnam to achieve Net-Zero. This objective aligns with the master planning vision for the Southern Coastal Economic Zone and fits the development strategies of both Vietnam and Hai Phong. DEEP C proposed developing an industrial zone associated with a waste-to-energy plant and logistics support area to create a pioneering symbiotic industrial zone. Mr. Jaspaert also noted that in the area of green transition and cleaner production, DEEP C successfully convinced 18 secondary investors (13% of clients at the time) to join a program assessing resource efficiency and cleaner production, committing to 85 solutions for saving energy, water, and reducing emissions. The results: saving 5.7 million kWh of electricity, 90,000m³ of water, and reducing 10,000 tons of CO₂ annually.
Not only industrial parks but also industrial clusters in Hai Phong are being developed based on the eco-industrial cluster model. For example, the An Tho Industrial Cluster, invested in and developed by An Tho Investment JSC over an area of nearly 50 hectares, is oriented toward ESG standards (Environmental – Social – Governance), becoming Hai Phong’s first model eco-industrial cluster.
According to Mr. Thai Thanh Nhan, Director of An Tho Investment JSC, the cluster will focus on green spaces integrated with local heritage, a wastewater treatment system meeting Column A standards, and renewable energy solutions such as solar power. These features ensure sustainability while creating a friendly and efficient working environment for businesses.
Welcoming a new wave of investment
Resolution No. 45-NQ/TW on the construction and development of Hai Phong to 2030, with a vision to 2045, sets the overall goal of making Hai Phong a leading city in industrialization and modernization, a growth engine for the North and the entire country, with modern, intelligent, and sustainable industry. One key task is to "pay special attention to ecological environmental protection; proactively respond to climate change and sea level rise."
To realize this, the city is promoting the transformation of traditional industrial zones into eco-industrial ones and developing models of eco-industrial parks and clusters.
Notably, Hai Phong was among the first localities in Vietnam to issue an Action Plan for the National Green Growth Strategy since 2014. It outlined 13 major tasks and solutions for green and sustainable socio-economic development, aiming to build a green, civilized, and modern port city. The city prioritizes green industry, eco-industrial parks, sustainable industrial real estate, and encourages the use of renewable energy, wind, and rooftop solar, as well as environmentally friendly production technologies.
In the coming time, Hai Phong will continue reviewing its list of encouraged and discouraged industrial projects until 2025, with a vision to 2030. This list requires projects to comply with environmental regulations. The city also continues to attract high-tech and key industries with high productivity and added value, using clean, environmentally friendly technologies. Plans are being developed to design high-tech, green industrial clusters applying the circular economy model among enterprises.
According to the Hai Phong Economic Zone Authority, the pilot development of the circular economy-based eco-industrial zone model at DEEP C and Nam Cau Kien industrial zones has delivered practical value. This model is now being applied in building the Southern Coastal Economic Zone, which is set to become Vietnam’s first green economic zone. The zone will integrate green, ecological, circular, digital economy, industrial symbiosis, and supply chain linkages, becoming a new driver of city development and attracting sustainable FDI. Mr. Pham Hong Diep, Chairman of Shinec JSC (investor of Nam Cau Kien Industrial Park), said the company will invest in technology and digital transformation, managing the zones remotely through automated environmental monitoring and camera systems.
"By increasing green space and emission reduction measures, we are working with secondary investors and partners to enjoy a shared green space at Nam Cau Kien. The goal is to scale up this eco-industrial model nationwide and internationally," Mr. Diep emphasized.