Businesses urged to use ‘green’ materials

Vietnamese businesses should expand production and use of non-baked construction materials as they are more energy efficient and environmentally friendly, an expert has said.

The traditional baked bricks destroy agricultural land, require large amounts of fuel, and harm the environment and human health.

According to Thai Duy Sam from the Ministry of Construction’s Building Material Institute the use of non-baked materials not only helps avoid these disadvantages but is also eco-friendly due to the use of recycled industrial waste.

Waste like cinder, cement and grit are used to make the materials.

By 2020 annual demand for bricks in the country will rise to 41 billion-43 billion.

If they are all made from clay, 57 million-60 million cubic metres of earth and up to 5.6 million tonnes of coal will be required.

Under a plan to develop their production, the country envisages using 20-25 per cent of non-baked bricks for construction by 2015 and 30-40 per cent by 2020.

Last year the rate was 8-8.5 per cent. If the 2020 target is achieved, every year 15 million-20 million tonnes of industrial waste will be recycled for construction and 1,000ha of agricultural land saved.

In the same year kilns are sought to be completely eliminated though it is unclear how the demand for bricks will be met.

To encourage production of non-baked materials, the Government is offering businesses import tax and corporate tax breaks.

It has also ordered the Ministry of Construction and other ministries to find technological solutions so that all industrial waste generated in the country can be used to make non-baked materials.

Production of non-baked bricks is mainly in the small-scale sector. There are around 1,200 production facilities that churn out 1.7 billion bricks a year.

Tran Van Huynh, chairman of the Viet Nam Construction Materials Association, said due to their economic benefits, non-baked bricks are becoming globally popular.

The hurdles to making a wholesale switch to non-baked materials include the entrenched nature of the habit of using traditional bricks and lack of incentives for making them.

The lack of policies on the production and use of non-baked bricks, construction standards, and prices is causing difficulties in using them for designers and architects.

Tags: green materials