Cumbersome Administrative Procedures Hinder CDM Projects in Vietnam
Vietnamese businesses have complained about cumbersome and complicated administrative procedures which discourage them from carrying out clean development mechanism (CDM) development projects, said a government official.
Vietnamese companies have to seek approval from 18 ministries and agencies for a CDM project, compared to just seven in China and nine in India, according to Mr. Nguyen Hung Quang from the government’s consulting board for administrative reform.
It often takes local firms between six and 12 months to complete administrative procedures for a CDM project, costing them up to VND500 million. Under recent regulation, such schedule should be one month and a half, Quang added.
Local businesses also moaned that the government lacks a transparent policy to encourage them to invest in CDM projects, he noted.
Under the prime minister’s decision, companies are offered priorities in taxes, land use and loans for CDM projects, however, these are not regulated at Law on Corporate Income Tax, Quang specified.
Fred Burke from the American Business Association said “CDM projects will help Vietnam mitigate environmental impacts for sustainable development; therefore, Vietnam should simplify administrative procedures for the projects to take advantages of foreign soft loans”.
The CDM is a flexible financing mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol that encourages developing countries to implement environmentally-friendly projects with financial supports from developed nations.
The Executive Board of the CDM has approved just 24 CDM projects in Vietnam since the country joined Kyoto Protocol in 2002, a very modest figure against the total number of 2,211 projects in 40 countries. (New Hanoi)
Vietnamese
