The Ministry of Construction (MoC) and the South Korea International Co-operation Agency (KOICA) held a workshop in Ha Noi on Thursday to review implementation of the Green City Planning Decision Support System (GDSS) in Viet Nam.

Under the project, which has been operating for more than half a year now, The South Korea Research Institute for Human Settlement and the Construction Ministry’s Project Management Board, as well as the administrations of Thai Nguyen and Kien Giang provinces have compiled a set of green urban indicators and a GDSS to evaluate urban development nationwide.

Workshop participants said this would be the foundation for building a legal framework and guidance document for green city planning in Viet Nam.

They also discussed ways to improve project efficiency and expand it in the future.

The project’s bigger aims are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen climate change adaptation and initiate reasonable and effective use of natural resources.

The project will be piloted in urban areas in Ha Noi and Thai Nguyen and Kien Giang provinces.

Viet Nam faces various serious urban problems including inadequate infrastructure and environmental degradation as a result of rapid economic development and urban population growth. — VNS