Vietnam will need around US$30 billion to implement a green growth strategy towards 2020 with 70% of the amount expected to come from private investors, said Pham Hoang Mai, head of the Department of Science, Education, Natural Resources under the Ministry of Planning and Investment. 

Wind turbines in coastal central Binh Thuan Province's Tuy Phong District. Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai says green growth plays a key role for the national economy – Photo: VNA/VNS

Mai was quoted by VietnamPlus as saying at a seminar on measures to realize the national strategy for green growth in Hanoi on Tuesday that the nation may raise funds from the private sector, share sales and commercial banks, among others.

Mai stressed the importance of Government investment and official development assistance (ODA) in the field as these sources will help attract private investments in green growth. 

Nguyen Tien Dong, head of the Credit Department at the State Bank of Vietnam, told the seminar that in the past years credit institutions have lent to projects using advanced technologies to plant vegetables and flowers, and provided preferential loans for agriculture firms to purchase machines and equipment and grow coffee in the Central Highlands region. 

Speakers at the seminar said more enterprises have invested in green production to save energy and input materials and at the same time improve productivity and product quality. But businesses, especially small and medium firms, have had trouble getting access to capital for new technologies. This is a discouragement for enterprises to invest in green growth.

Experts at the seminar proposed the central bank assign banks which lend to the agriculture sector to use refinancing and funds from international organizations to lend on to enterprises committed to green growth projects.

Dong said the central bank would improve mechanisms and take appropriate measures to facilitate credit institutions to lend more to green growth projects and enable enterprises to achieve this goal.

In addition, banks will be assisted to train staff and improve lending capability for green growth projects.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said supporting measures of the central bank are important to green growth. He added that green growth is new and challenging Vietnam but this is a must for the economy.

Hai called for ministries and agencies to suggest ways for the Government to improve mechanisms and policies to support enterprises to boost restructuring and application of modern technologies.  

Ministries should propose viable solutions for the Government to adopt so as to attract resources to realize the national strategy for green growth, Hai said.