Sejong, April 10 - The Ministry of Environment (Minister Han Wha-jin) announced that an environment ministry delegation led by Geum Han-seung, Deputy Minister of the Climate Change and Carbon Neutral Policy Office, visited Vietnam for five days beginning March 27. Vietnam has a demand for state-of-the-art smart incinerators using artificial intelligence (AI) technology and smart sewage treatment facilities. Korean companies suggested the government visit Vietnam at the 3rd Meeting of Green Industry Korean Companies Operating Overseas, held on March 15, 2023, since government-to-government cooperation is important to enter the Vietnamese market where public-private partnerships have recently been introduced. 

Geum Han-seung, head of the delegation, met key Vietnamese figures, such as Le Cong Thanh, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, and Nguyen Tuong Van, Deputy Minister of Construction, to explain the excellence of Korean technology that is important for public-private partnership projects. He also explained the difficulties of Korean companies operating in Vietnam. The environment ministry had identified the difficulties beforehand during its one-on-one meetings with Korean companies. On March 29, Deputy Minister Geum and officials from Korean companies operating in Vietnam met Le Cong Thanh, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam, to suggest a pilot application of an AI incinerator developed using Korean technologies to the Bac Ninh waste incineration power plant. Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh thanked the suggestion and promised to support expanding similar projects, starting with the Bac Ninh waste incineration power plant. 

Deputy Minister Geum had already suggested a plan for the pilot project to three companies-one of the Korean SMEs that has installed the facility (Chosun Refractories ENG), a Vietnamese company operating the facility (Green Star), and a Korean company providing the AI incinerator technology (SK ecoplant)-and asked them to review the plan technically. Accepting the proposal by the environment ministry, the three Korean and Vietnamese companies signed an MOU for the transition toward AI incinerators at the Bac Ninh waste incineration power plant on March 29, 2023. They plan to inspect the existing incinerator facility and convert it into Smart incinerators using artificial intelligence (AI) technology in 2023 so the operation can begin in 2024. 

The AI incinerator is an advanced technology with which an incinerator can be operated more stably as more data on the properties and calorific power of waste input are accumulated. The Ministry of Environment expected that the AI incinerator installed at the Bac Ninh waste incineration power plant would help obtain information on the waste generated in Vietnam and increase the penetration of AI incinerators in the country. 

Furthermore, the delegation met with Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tuong Van on March 31, 2023, and suggested a green ODA project of creating the Water Treatment Technopark. Tenant companies at Water Treatment Technopark will be assisted with technology development, information exchange, and technology demonstration. The creation of the 'Korea-Vietnam Water Treatment Technopark' is expected to bring the effect of helping Korean water treatment companies enter the Vietnamese market.

It is the fourth time the Ministry of Environment had sent a delegation since January 2022, when the delegation visited Uzbekistan. The delegation also visited Egypt and Saudi Arabia before Vietnam.

Geum Han-seung, Deputy Minister of the Climate Change and Carbon Neutral Policy Office of the Ministry of Environment, stated, "We are ready to visit any country in the world that Korean companies want us to." He added, "The Ministry of Environment will play a central role in Korean companies entering the global green market."

Contact: Geum Byung-wook, Deputy Director

Green Industry Overseas Expansion Support Team / +82-(0)44-201-7563

Foreign Media Contact: Chun Minjo(Rachel)

+82-(0)44-201-6055 / rachelmchun@korea.kr