Vietnam Environmental Technologies Export Market Plan

Executive Summary
• The market for environmental technologies is being
driven by overseas development assistance (ODA). In
general, the Vietnamese government and Vietnamese
companies do not have the resources to finance
pollution prevention or treatment equipment. ODAfinanced
projects represent the largest market for
environmental technologies, equipment, and services.
• Foreign manufacturers and foreign-invested industrial
zones represent a shrinking market opportunity.
Vietnam’s economy is growing at half the rate of the
mid-1990s, and levels of foreign direct investment in
Vietnam are down by over 60 percent from 1996. The
market trend is defined by foreign companies leaving,
not entering Vietnam.
• Vietnamese companies can be a promising market
opportunity, but financing from the supplier, from
bilateral aid grants, or from other ODA sources should
be arranged. Securing bilateral grants to finance
environment-related projects at large, state-owned
companies has proven to be a successful approach to
winning business.
• To bid successfully on contracts funded by Vietnamese
companies, and even those funded by ODA, it is
essential to develop strong relationships with the
government ministries administering the tender, as well
as with the end client (often a provincial or city
government). In addition, demonstrating a willingness
to be flexible and to work in a legal environment less
secure than what exists in developed countries can be
helpful in both establishing strong relationships and
in securing contracts.
• Vietnam’s most pressing environmental problems are
providing clean water and reducing the population’s
exposure to polluted water. Less than 40 percent of
the population has access to potable water. Most of
Vietnam’s largest companies dump untreated
wastewater into canals, streams, and rivers. Over $1
billion in ODA have been committed to the water
resources sector.
• Increasingly, ODA funding is being directed toward
urban-environment improvement projects. Five of the
14 largest ODA projects in the pipeline are in the urban
planning and pollution control sector. These projects
include rehabilitation or construction of water supply,
drainage, and sewage networks. The drainage and
sewage networks in Vietnam’s urban centers are dualpurpose
systems used for rainwater and wastewater
(and often solid waste). Flooding of these systems
occurs frequently, exposing the population to
pollutants.
• Vietnam is just starting to tackle its air pollution and
hazardous waste problems. The country’s first
comprehensive studies on the effects of these forms of
pollution are underway or in the planning stage. The
best opportunities in these sectors are for vendors of
monitoring and analysis equipment, as well as for
companies that can undertake air quality and hazardous
waste studies.
• Major urban centers are unable to dispose of the
volumes of solid waste being produced. Urban centers’
main dumping grounds are approaching their capacities
and have not been built to prevent leakage. ODAbacked
projects are financing upgrades of garbage
collection infrastructure and construction of new
landfills.
• Vietnam’s soil environment is most threatened by
continued deforestation, rapid growth in agriculture
productivity, and overuse of pesticides. While some
ODA has been directed away from forestry
management toward urban pollution problems in recent
years, 74 percent of total planned ODA (in terms of
dollar value) is directed toward natural resources
management.
• The market for environmental services centers on
consultant contracts for ODA-funded projects. The best
opportunities for environmental services companies
rest with preparation of feasibility studies, detailed
designs, bidding documents, etc. on ODA-funded
Vietnam Export Market Plan
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