Vietnam Affirms not to License Projects Fail to Meet Environmental Protection

Vietnam will grant no investment license to any project that fail to meet environmental protection requirements, the government said on its website. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) needs to cooperate with related agencies and localities to tighten control over the appraisal of environmental impacts before the licensing, according to Resolution 59/NQ-CP issued during the government’s June meeting. It noted that authorities need to prioritize issues relating to environmental protection but not economic value. The MONRE needs to review the implementation of environment law to find out violating facilities. In addition, the ministry needs to check the exploitation of natural resources, especially the use of land, the government said on its website. The government of Vietnam is showing its firm standpoint on environmental protection after a number of foreign-invested companies were found to have violated environmental protection rules, especially Taiwan’s Hung Nghiep Formosa Co., Ltd that has poisoned the sea off Vietnam’s central region recently. A survey from the Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM) showed in April that 67% of foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) are investing in low value-added sectors in Vietnam while 80% of them are running medium-tech manufacturing. (Baochinhphu.vn July 8)