Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong and Representative of UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Country Office in Vietnam Patrick J.Gilabert on May 18 signed documents for an energy saving project.
The US $6.62 million project, funded by the Global Environmental Fund (GEF), will be carried out over three-and-a-half years from May.
It was tailored for industrial enterprises to save energy in their whole production systems and raise their capacity in application of ISO standards for energy management, to integrate energy saving as part of the management process, and implement sustainable energy-saving solutions.
According to the National Target Program on Energy Saving from 2011-2015, Vietnam plans to save 5-8% of energy.
Mr. Patrick J.Gilabert said Vietnam is a country with a relatively high energy consumption rate in comparison with other developing countries. However, industrial enterprises still have inadequate awareness of saving energy.
According to the Representative, the capacity of energy saving may reach 25% depending on different systems.
Initially, the project will prioritize enhancing capacity of producers, equipment suppliers and distributors, energy and consultancy services providers, and policy makers.
Project beneficiaries are enterprises operating in such areas as food processing, garment and textile, rubber, paper, and pulp processing.
The project will help train Vietnamese experts on energy saving, engineers and managers of factories in utilizing energy-saving systems./.