Can a company with multiple facilities apply for a single environmental permit?

Ms. Vu Thi Hoan's company (Hanoi) has 3 operating facilities, all located in the same industrial park, and are granted a single Investment Registration Certificate.

According to Clause 9, Section 8 of Article 1 of Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP, effective from January 6, 2025, in cases where investment projects are merged into a single joint investment project as prescribed by law, the decisions approving the results of the environmental impact assessment report of the merged investment project shall serve as the basis for granting the environmental permit to that joint investment project. The competent authority for granting the environmental permit shall be the superior authority in cases where multiple competent state agencies approve the results of the environmental impact assessment report, except for joint investment projects falling under the provisions of Article 26a of this Decree. If the joint investment project involves changes to the project falling under the provisions of Clauses 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of this Article, the corresponding regulations applicable to that joint investment project shall apply.

Ms. Hoan asked whether, based on the above regulations, her company is allowed to combine three facilities into one environmental permit.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment responded to this issue as follows:

The merger of investment projects is carried out in accordance with the law on investment, and is not subject to the law on environmental protection. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment requests the company to review the contents of the Investment Registration Certificate issued by the competent state agency to determine the correct scale of the certified project.

In the case where the company's three investment projects have been merged into one investment project and recorded in the issued Investment Registration Certificate, the administrative procedure for granting an environmental permit for the joint investment project (if an environmental permit is required) shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clause 8, Article 27 of Government Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP dated January 10, 2022, detailing some provisions of the Law on Environmental Protection, as amended and supplemented by Clause 9, Article 1 of Government Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP dated January 6, 2025, amending and supplementing some provisions of Government Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP dated January 10, 2022, detailing some provisions of the Law on Environmental Protection.

Furthermore, the company is requested to review the operating locations of the three facilities, the accompanying environmental documents, and compare them with the regulations at point b, clause 4, Article 27b of Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP, as amended and supplemented by Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP dated January 6, 2025, and Decree No. 48/2026/ND-CP dated January 29, 2026, of the Government, in order to carry out the environmental permit issuance procedure as prescribed.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/dn-nhieu-co-so-xin-cap-chung-giay-phep-moi-truong-co-duoc-khong-5082171.html