Building a "green and ecological" Tang Loong industrial park

Established under Decision No. 601/QD-UBND dated March 15, 2011, Tang Loong Industrial Park has a scale of 1,100 hectares, currently filling more than 90% of the area with 28 large and small projects. Including 13 fertilizer and chemical factories; 3 metallurgical factories; 1 ore selection factory; the rest are a number of auxiliary projects such as: Production of metal packaging, grinding balls, lining plates... creating jobs for more than 5,500 workers. The industrial production value in 2024 will reach approximately 20,000 billion VND, accounting for 44% of the whole old Lao Cai province; in the first 10 months of 2025, the production value will reach about 19,600 billion VND.

From the Apatite ore selection area in the 1980s, Tang Loong has now become the leading metallurgical and chemical industrial park in the country, home to large enterprises such as Duc Giang Chemicals Company Limited, Vietnam Apatite Company Limited, Lao Cai Copper Smelting Branch (Mineral Corporation, TKV Group)...

Key products such as copper sheets, high quality phosphorus, DAP, superphosphate, steel billets not only serve domestic industrial production but are also exported to countries such as the US, Germany, and Japan, making a great contribution to the provincial budget.

Due to the nature of the industrial park specializing in mineral processing and chemical production, the risk of environmental pollution for the internal area and neighboring residential areas is very high. Therefore, right from the first days of establishment, the province has invested in environmental treatment infrastructure items such as a centralized wastewater treatment plant with a capacity of 3,000 m³/day and night, a separate waste collection system, an automatic emission monitoring system, etc.

Mr. Vuong Trinh Quoc - Head of Lao Cai Economic Zone Management Board, said: "The policy of converting to an ecological industrial park model is identified as a strategic step, both ensuring the goal of sustainable development and creating a new image in attracting investment".

According to Decree 35/2022/ND-CP and Circular 05/2025/TT-BKHĐT, the Economic Zone Management Board has consulted with the Provincial People's Committee to select Tang Loong Industrial Park as the pioneer among 6 industrial parks in the province for pilot implementation. The project to build an ecological industrial park model was established by the consortium of Vietnam Cleaner Production Center Co., Ltd. - VNCPC and Green Ventures Vietnam Joint Stock Company to be implemented from October to December 2025.

To realize the ecological industrial park model, Lao Cai has set out three key groups of solutions: Completing green infrastructure planning; innovating cleaner production technology; enhancing supervision and community participation. Converting to ecological industrial parks not only reduces energy consumption; reduces emissions and wastewater that are harmful to the environment but also contributes to reducing input materials, deep processing of minerals and improving product quality.

In fact, in previous years, a number of enterprises in Tang Loong Industrial Park have proactively participated in the "greening" process in production development, typically Duc Giang Chemicals Company Limited, which currently has three factories with more than 2,500 employees, revenue in 2024 reaching over 10,000 billion VND, profit of more than 3,000 billion VND, and budget contribution of about 800 billion VND. To protect the environment and save production costs, the Company has had many solutions to treat, recycle solid waste and reuse closed wastewater; utilize excess heat to generate electricity, dry ore to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr. Dang Tien Duc - Deputy Director of Duc Giang Chemical Company Limited, shared: "The company's upcoming goal is to continue to innovate the technology of factories for deep processing, increasing the value of products. Currently, the company has invested in a closed phosphorus production line, utilizing excess heat from electric furnaces to generate electricity, drying gypsum tailings. The company's goal is to reduce at least 30% of solid waste and toxic emissions in the next 5 years. Duc Giang is committed to accompanying Lao Cai province in building a green - clean - bright industrial park."

Not only Duc Giang Chemicals Company Limited, but also currently, in Tang Loong Industrial Park, large units such as Apatit Vietnam Company Limited are implementing a project to reuse Apatit ore sludge to produce construction materials, Lao Cai Copper Smelting Branch is investing in upgrading the electrostatic dust filter system and cooling water circulation. When businesses actively participate in technological innovation, together applying the industrial symbiosis model, the entire Industrial Park will operate in the direction of saving energy and core resources of the ecological Industrial Park model.

Mr. Pham Binh Minh - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, said: "Before implementing the project to build Tang Loong Industrial Park into an ecological industrial park, Lao Cai province organized a study tour in Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh City on the construction of ecological industrial parks and consulted with many experts and businesses. Because Tang Loong Industrial Park will not be able to become an ecological industrial park without the participation of scientists, the consensus of investors and support mechanisms from the province and the state.

Mr. Hoang Van Thuc - Director of the Department of Environmental Pollution Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment said: "For Tang Loong Industrial Park to truly be an ecological industrial park, in addition to building an infrastructure system according to criteria, each enterprise needs to be connected in a circular system - where waste from one unit becomes raw material for another. Lao Cai province needs to invest in a centralized waste treatment center, transparently monitor and offer green credit incentives to encourage it."

When the project is completed, Tang Loong will become the first ecological industrial park in the Northern Midlands and Mountains region. This will help reduce waste emissions, toxic emissions, save energy and create a new competitive advantage in attracting "green" investors, especially corporations in Europe and Japan. Converting the Tang Loong Industrial Park model into an ecological industrial park is a key political task to realize the goal of building Lao Cai "Green - Harmony - Identity - Happiness". Moreover, it will contribute to implementing the commitment to specific actions towards the goal of reducing net emissions to "0" that Vietnam declared at COP26.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/xay-dung-khu-cong-nghiep-tang-loong-xanh-va-sinh-thai-post886612.html