Promoting “green” buildings is a challenge in Vietnam given a lack of specific standards and procedures for construction and a lack of competent human resources, said the HCM City Energy Saving Centre (ECC-HCM City).
Green architecture expert Thierry Roche said that in order to design a green building, many aspects, including ecological conditions, people’s health and the surrounding environment must be considered.
Building investors are not well-informed on the effectiveness of energy saving, according to architect Tran Hoang Kien from Vinaconex R&D Joint Stock Company.
He said that energy-saving designs enable investors to save costs in the long run, but they have to invest more at the start.
That is why investors are hesitant about investing in energy-saving methods. “As businessmen, they want to maximize profit with minimum investment,” Kien said. “They want to break even in two to five years.”
Kien said that promoting the green building concept is difficult because there are few suppliers of energy-saving equipment.
Tran Khanh Trung, director of Tam Trung Thong Design Joint Stock Company, said construction costs for an energy-saving building are 50 to 100 percent higher than for a normal building.
