Developing sustainable green buildings.

An inevitable trend

According to statistics from the Vietnam Real Estate Association (Vnrea), Vietnam is undergoing rapid urbanization and development. The urbanization rate has increased from 30.5% in 2010 to over 42.6% in 2023 and is still on an upward trend. The target is to reach at least 45% by 2025 and over 50% by 2030.

According to a review by the Ministry of Construction , as of early 2024, Vietnam had 902 urban areas, including two special-class cities, 22 Class I cities, 35 Class II cities, 46 Class III cities, and 94 urban areas. Each year, it is estimated that Vietnamese cities gain between 1 and 1.3 million inhabitants. Urbanization facilitates economic development and promotes the shift in labor and economic structure in localities. However, this process is accompanied by uneven planning, management, and development across regions, and a lack of consistency in policies and laws related to urban investment and construction, leading to spontaneous urbanization.

This reality has led to some cities lacking technical infrastructure, urban landscapes being disrupted, greenhouse gas emissions increasing, and environmental pollution rising... and the trend of real estate developers and businesses shifting towards developing green buildings is becoming inevitable to meet the increasing demand from investors for real estate with sustainable green spaces and close to nature.

However, according to Vnrea's statistics, the number of green building projects in Vietnam that meet current criteria remains modest compared to the demand and the number of projects being built. This is because many investors want to develop green buildings but lack experience or are concerned about construction costs increasing by 20-30% compared to conventional buildings. Vietnam currently has about 300 green buildings, whereas more than 10 years ago, Vietnam had none.

Real estate experts believe that, in order to realize Vietnam's goal of green economic growth and green building development, state management agencies need to quickly finalize the process of evaluating, certifying, and granting certificates for green materials, equipment, and buildings with specific figures and quantifiable data; build and issue specific incentive mechanisms for green buildings that use energy efficiently and effectively... to attract businesses to develop green buildings; and at the same time, promote communication and raise awareness among relevant stakeholders about using energy-saving and environmentally friendly equipment.

Solving the policy and cost problems of green building construction.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Le Trung Thanh, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Building Materials (Ministry of Construction), the Government has approved the Green Growth Strategy and action plans to implement it. The Ministry of Construction has also issued decisions on the industry's action plan to implement energy saving and efficiency in construction projects. In addition, there are standards and regulations on energy saving in buildings. The real estate business community itself has also recognized the importance of constructing green buildings.

Upon investigation, although many real estate businesses are now aware of the benefits of green buildings, construction costs remain a crucial factor in the development of green buildings and a major barrier for investors wishing to build and operate sustainable structures in Vietnam.

Representatives from many real estate businesses also stated that the investment cost for green buildings and energy-efficient buildings is always the first question for investors when considering sustainable, environmentally friendly real estate products. The answer regarding costs will be clarified through actual projects, calculated and compared between conventional designs and cost-optimized designs in terms of investment and operating costs, under the conditions of costs, materials, and equipment in Vietnam.

The Ministry of Construction has issued the national technical standard QCVN 09:2013/BXD on energy requirements, which specifies the thermal conductivity of materials, aiming to contribute to the construction of functionally efficient buildings. However, not many building materials on the market meet these standards. Therefore, investors need to seek and use energy-saving, environmentally friendly, and recyclable building materials.

According to the National Program on Energy Saving and Efficiency for the period 2019-2030 (VNEEP3), approved by the Prime Minister, the goal is to have an additional 80 green building projects certified nationwide by 2025, and this number will reach 150 by 2030. Therefore, in the coming time, the green building sector will experience strong breakthroughs and a major shift in the construction industry.

According to VNEEP3, state management agencies need to have financial support funds for green building projects, energy-efficient buildings, resource-saving buildings, or other similar types of buildings; the State should coordinate with banks to provide loans at preferential interest rates for these types of projects.

On the other hand, state management agencies use taxation as an effective tool to change the behavior of investors, promote green investment, and ensure financing for the transition to green construction; businesses leading in green transformation projects will receive more financial support as well as other development opportunities; at the same time, consideration should be given to creating preferential conditions in the construction permit stage and providing professional support for green building projects.

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