Almost 67 percent of foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) in Vietnam are operating in low-value manufacturing sectors with out-dated machinery, which is a major reason for the severe pollution problems the country is facing.

photo source: nld.com.vn

This was the opinion of experts at the conference on decreasing the environmental impacts of FIEs in Vietnam, organised by the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) on March 30 in Hanoi, according to newswire Dantri.com.

Nguyen Thi Tue Anh, CIEM’s deputy director, noted that during inspections between 2011 and 2015, more and more FIEs were detected to have out-dated machinery, most of which operated exclusively in the textile and garment, chemistry, electronics, and footwear sectors.

Notably, as of 2013, only 5 per cent of FIEs used high-technology, 80 per cent used medium-tech, and 15 per cent used out-dated machinery.

Besides, from 1998 to 2013, there were only 28 wastewater treatment projects among the 1,600 foreign-invested projects in Vietnam, equalling 0.2 per cent of the total number.

It shows the contradiction in FIEs’ commitment to invest in modern technology lines in Vietnam.

Numerous industrial parks (IPs) have yet to either build wastewater treatment systems or connect to the available facilities, according to CIEM’s documents. Especially, in the Mekong River Delta region, 75 per cent of IPs and 85 per cent of industrial clusters lack sufficient wastewater treatment systems.

Recently, authorities detected a series of environmental violations at a number of FIEs.

Notably, on January 8, on an unannounced inspection the police detected that Chinese company Pou Hung Vietnam Co., Ltd. in Tay Ninh province discharged wastewater directly into Ben Dinh canal, leading to severe pollution.

The canal is directly linked to the Vam Co Dong River, exacerbating the danger and magnitude of the damage.

Notably, the company’s wastewater pipe is connected to the conduits of 15 workshops’ rain-water pipes to discharge wastewater directly into the canal.

In 2015, hundreds of households living in the central province of Quang Nam’s Nui Thanh district complained that their daily life was affected by environmental pollution caused by Chu Lai SODA Processing Joint Stock Company.

The company discharged coal and black carbon, both substances being banned by regulations, into the environment.

Along with violations of the discharging process guidelines, the company failed to build appropriate wastewater and solid waste treatment facilities.