Vietnam’s waste-to-energy (WtE) projects, widely seen as critical for addressing urban pollution and generating renewable energy, are hampered by administrative complexity, legal overlaps, and an uncompetitive pricing framework. Despite strong environmental potential, most projects take 5 to 8 years to complete, with many facing long delays, VietnamNet is quoting an ‘investor’ as saying.
Key points in the article include:
- Overlapping procedures: WtE projects fall under multiple overlapping laws — including environmental, land, electricity, construction, and public investment laws — with conflicting planning and permitting requirements between central and local authorities.
- Lengthy approval timelines: Even with planning in place, detailed planning approvals can take 6 months to 2 years. Environmental impact assessments can add another year.
- Lack of coordination: Projects must complete a wide array of agreements — on land clearance, water, power connection, road access, etc. — with multiple ministries and agencies.
- No guaranteed input or buyer: Despite being public utility projects, WtE developers are not assured a long-term waste supply or payment contract, making investment recovery risky.
- Weak investor incentives: The current FIT (feed-in tariff) for WtE of 10.05 US cents/kWh has remained unchanged since 2014 and is unattractive compared to past incentives for solar and wind.
- Most projects suffer delays: Soc Son (Hanoi) took 7 years; Phu Tho is still incomplete after 8 years; Bim Son (Thanh Hoa) has been extended for 7 years. Even faster-moving projects like Seraphin (Hanoi) and Thuan Thanh (Bac Ninh) took 4 years to reach trial operation despite investor efforts.
Vietnam generates vast volumes of urban waste, and WtE offers a path to reduce landfill dependency and produce power. Yet without legal streamlining, planning synchronisation, and pricing reform, WtE will remain underdeveloped. Investors need clear service contracts, stable pricing, and regulatory certainty to proceed.
See also: Rethinking Financing Vietnam’s Clean Energy Transition