Description

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lê Trung Thành, head of the Vietnam Institute for Building Materials under the Ministry of Construction, discussed the current situation and outlook for the development of eco-friendly construction materials in Vietnam.

After 10 years of implementing Decision 567/ QĐ-TTg (2010) on the development of non-baked building materials, there has been remarkable progress. Various products have been produced by applying modern technology and machinery. For example, until 2019 the adobe brick accounts for more than 30% of market share – a significant improvement compared to 2010 with 8%; or autoclaved aerated concrete produced by Viglacera and Tân Kỷ Nguyên, or relatively new products, such as acotec partition panels produced by VinGroup.

It is recommended that the government should introduce more support policies including tax priority for eco-friendly firms and higher tax burdens for firms using traditional production methods. Additionally, governmental agencies should improve the quality control for construction materials, e.g., more severe penalties for violators, and build capacity for officials on quality indexes of construction materials.

The trend of construction materials is eco-friendly and energy-saving materials and it has been implemented globally. In Vietnam, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment established a governmental ecolabeling in 2009, Vietnam Green Label, with 17 standard indexes; and the Ministry of Construction also introduced two additional indexes for concrete and bathroom ceramics. This is expected to promote firms to figure out new and more eco-friendly technology and production methods.

Sources & further information: “VN to develop eco-friendly construction materials” at https://vietnamnews.vn and “Cần giải pháp đồng bộ để phát triển vật liệu xây không nung” at http://baochinhphu.vn, accessed on 21 June 2021.