Korea offers a hand to help Vietnam develop green cities

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Vietnam’s Ministry of Construction and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) on Thursday kicked off a project to promote the development of green cities in Vietnam, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

According to Vietnamese experts, green cities is a target for Vietnam in its attempt to promote sustainable development. However, there is currently no institutional framework or specific rules for the country to follow.

 As a result, the project will focus on introducing a legal framework on urban planning and offering a set of indexes to evaluate the “greenness” of each city. In addition, the two countries will also work on staff training and providing facilities as well as equipment required in the area of green development.

The Korean government will offer Vietnam at least $6.5 million to conduct the project. The Vietnamese government will also contribute part of the state budget to the project.

To start with, the project will be carried out in Hanoi, the northern province of Thai Nguyen and the southern province of Kien Giang over a two-year period.

Jang Jae Yoon, a representative of KOICA in Vietnam, said that around 50 percent of the global population live in big cities, putting great pressure on how to deal with environmental problems.

Vietnam also follows the same trend. The number of citizens has been growing at a staggering rate in Vietnam’s megacities, so it’s urgent for the country to balance between economic development and environmental protection, Jang Jae Yoon said.

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