HCM CITY — Businesses must save energy, protect the ecosystem and take steps to deal with climate change while maintaining development, experts told attendees at a forum held yesterday in HCM City.

Industrial parks and export processing zones in the southern region, including HCM City and the provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Ba Ria – Vung Tau, are turning their attention to attracting hi-tech and supporting industry projects that are environmentally friendly.

Scientists and managers from Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) gathered at a training programme on building green growth capacity for Vietnam, in Hanoi on December 12.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of US$309.89 million for a new 750 megawatt (MW) power plant in southern Vietnam, the bank announced in its press release on November 24.

Belgium-backed Phuoc Nam-Enfinity renewable energy project in southern Ninh Thuan province will delay construction to late 2012.

Representatives from Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries gathered at a seminar in Hanoi on December 1 to discuss measures to realise the goal of building a more prosperous and equitable region through development of a green economy.

Electricity prices are expected to increase by 4.6 percent in 2012, Minister of Finance Vuong Dinh Hue told the National Assembly on November 24.

PetroVietnam Power Corporation on Saturday officially brought its Nhon Trach Power Plant No. 2 into operation in the southern province of Dong Nai.

Nguyen Thanh Tan, Chief Representative of SN Power Holding Singapore Ltd in Hanoi, a subsidiary of Norwegian Power Group managed by the Norwegian government, said on Dau tu that the company wants to buy big amounts of stakes of state owned and private run hydropower plants in Vietnam.

According to Yanko Yanev, head of IAEA’s Nuclear Knowledge Management program, in order to have qualified human resources, it is necessary for Vietnam to introduce preferential policies for talented people.

The first competition for solar-energy fueled toy vehicles in Vietnam opened at the HCM City Hi-Tech Park by the HCM City Department of Science and Technology on October 24.

Each stove cost around VND 2-3 million depending on the capacity of waste containers. Tuan explained that he had cherished the idea to make the stove since he was a boy.

Businesses in Luong Son Industrial Zone (Hoa Binh) usually organize production at off-peak hours to save energy and reduce production costs.

People-founded Van Lang University base 2 (Ho Chinh Minh City) has an area of nearly 5,000m2 with 400 teachers who train 11,000 students per year. With that scale, each month, the school consumes an average of 38,000 kWh of electricity.

The Export-Import Bank of the US has agreed on a credit package worth US$1 billion for a wind power development programme in the Mekong River Delta between 2011 and 2015.

The Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) started construction of the VND33 trillion Mong Duong 1 Thermal Power Plant in the northern province of Quang Ninh on October 22.

Vietnamese enterprises support the Government’s move to invest in renewable and alternative energy and they accept high energy costs in the short-term to lessen the nation’s dependence on mineral oil and its aim to have a long-term stable price.

The ambassador said that Denmark has many advantages in using energy effectively, particularly recycled and clean energies like solar energy, energy produced from rubbish and biogas.

Modern technologies, adequate Government incentives and reasonable production costs would help facilitate the development of renewable energy in Viet Nam.

Modern technologies, adequate Government incentives and reasonable production costs will help facilitate the development of renewable energy in Vietnam.

Diesel and kerosene prices, including value added tax, started decreasing at 11am yesterday while petrol and other oil prices remained unchanged, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

The concrete stove, at 4-m-high with capacity of about 12cu.m, can deal with 120 kilos of waste each time. The facility cost about VND7 million (US$340).

In Sep and Oct 2011, the gas systems of Nam Con Son and PM3 shall be suspended for repair and maintenance as planned.

The workshop aimed to raise the awareness of sustainable development of the business community, especially in the energy sector of Vietnam.

Cuban and Vietnamese experts are working together to install new-type biogas producing tanks made from Polyester, which is expected to help local farmers in Cuba get an alternative source of electric power for daily life and production.

Phu Quoc Island District in the southern province of Kien Giang will receive more than VND9.16 trillion (US$436.2 million) to implement three power supply projects, said the Phu Quoc Investment and Development Management Board.