The conference sought to review the implementation of a project on developing the environmental industry in Vietnam for the 2010-15 period and set goals through to 2025.

Preferential financial policies were needed for environmental service providers, the association said, adding that incentives should be devised to boost the consumption of domestically made environmentally friendly products, while financial assistance should be provided for promotional events. Localities also needed to develop their own plans for developing the sector through 2020, it added.

Sharing this view, Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) Nguyen Huy Hoan stressed the need for legal documents guiding the application of the incentives, in terms of finance, infrastructure, land and taxes for the production and import of machines, equipment and vehicles used in collecting, transporting and processing waste.

Developing a mechanism on environmental technology transfers should also be considered, Hoan said.

In the 2010-15 period, within the framework of the project, the ministry approved 57 research missions relating to technology, equipment and products serving the industry, with a total investment of VND198 billion (US$8.91 million).

There are nearly 4,000 licenced firms operating nationwide in the environmental field, said the association’s chairman, Nguyen Dinh Hiep. A majority of them are small-sized enterprises, with capital below VND5 billion ($225,000), Hiep noted.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment the environmental firms have not been able to invest into areas which require large investments due to their small scale.

There are almost no State-owned enterprises in the sector eligible to resolve large environmental issues, such as harmful solid waste and oil spills.