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From 2022 to 2025, nationwide there were about 10,000 projects that were appraised and approved based on environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports, with the provincial level accounting for the majority (about 8,000 projects). The full implementation of EIA approval requirements has helped project owners better control environmental issues during implementation, save costs, and improve investment efficiency toward green and sustainable development.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that in the period 2022-2025, more than 100 strategies and plans implementing EIA processes were prepared, appraised and approved during their formulation, appraisal and approval stages.
In these reviews, the contents of EIAs were analyzed, evaluated and commented in detail by competent authorities. The aim was to refine strategies and planning to ensure comprehensive assessment and holistic solutions that meet environmental protection requirements when approving and issuing those strategies and plans.
Through the strategic environmental assessment (SEA) tool, national master plans, national land-use plans, national maritime spatial plans, national sector plans, regional plans and provincial plans were reviewed and integrated with environmental protection content aligned with the national environmental protection strategy’s viewpoints, objectives, tasks, solutions and programs, plans and key projects.
Over the past three years, more than 100 SEA strategies and plans were implemented in the process of developing, appraising and approving strategies and plans. Conducting SEA alongside planning appraisal helped planning and appraisal authorities clearly define roles and responsibilities for implementing environmental protection requirements, embedding environmental protection directions into planning.
For the preparation, appraisal and approval of EIA reports, the five-year report on the implementation of the 2020 Environmental Protection Law notes that from 2022-2025, nationwide around 10,000 projects were appraised and the results of EIA appraisal were approved. Of these, about 2,000 were at the ministerial level (including the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Defense) and about 8,000 were at the provincial level.
The results of EIAs supported competent authorities and project owners in making investment decisions more appropriately and effectively. Project owners can plan investment costs and contents from the project research stage and add environmental mitigation measures to reduce negative impacts on natural resources, biodiversity, ecosystems and the living environment of people.
Nationwide, about 10,000 projects were appraised and approved for EIA. Some investment projects were reviewed and adjusted to adopt advanced, environmentally friendly production technologies, including adding environmental facilities and measures to increase recycling, reuse and waste circulation in production and to tightly control waste before discharge.
According to the ministry’s report, in the three-year period (2022-2025) the Ministry issued about 1,300 environmental permits. Among them, 67 facilities had large emission flows of 1,000,000 m3/hour or more, mainly cement and thermal power facilities.
Regarding EIA regulations, draft amendments to the 2020 Environmental Protection Law are under development and completion. The draft continues to reform procedures for EIA and environmental licenses, aiming to ensure substantial control and effective oversight of projects and facilities with high environmental risk, while simplifying procedures and promoting socio-economic development projects.
The draft focuses on continuing to reduce the objects requiring EIA by environmental criteria to help investors determine which administrative procedures must be performed, including EIA assessment, environmental licensing and environmental registration.
Under the draft, investment project classification would be grouped into three categories (instead of four under the current law), corresponding to environmental administrative procedures: Group I (requires detailed EIA), Group II (simple EIA), and Group III (only environmental registration or licensing before implementation).
The draft adds new provisions to continue cutting ĐTM requirements for projects located in industrial zones and clusters, projects not categorized as high-pollution environments, small-scale projects, and projects without sensitive environmental factors.
Amendments to the appraisal process would issue only a notice of appraisal results (not an approval of EIA results) for projects subject to simple ĐTM.
Proposed revisions to environmental criteria aim to adjust and reduce the scope of ĐTM requirements.
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