Efforts and Expectations to Transform North Hanoi Smart City into the First Carbon-Neutral Urban Area in Vietnam and the world

At the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Leaders Meeting held in Indonesia, four entities including BRG Group (Vietnam), Sumitomo Corporation (Japan), North Hanoi Smart City Development Investment Joint Stock Company (NHSC), and Thang Long Industrial Park (TLIP) handed over a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on decarbonization through energy management between North Hanoi Smart City (NHSC) and Thang Long Industrial Park (TLIP), aiming to make North Hanoi Smart City the first carbon-neutral urban area in Vietnam and the world.

Madame Nguyen Thi Nga, Chairman of BRG Group with representatives from participating parties at the MoU signing ceremony with the witness of Mr. Ken Saito, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (center)

The goal of this MoU is to achieve decarbonization in the integrated area of North Hanoi Smart City and Thang Long Industrial Park through various energy management measures and to create a model for future industrial parks and smart cities in Vietnam, contributing to the Vietnamese government's carbon neutrality policy by 2050.

During the signing ceremony, Madame Nga stated: “With a mission to contribute the best to the community, we hope to make the North Hanoi Smart City project, a key economic cooperation project between the Vietnamese and Japanese governments, the world's first carbon-neutral urban area. This will serve as a model for Hanoi and Vietnam in developing a more sustainable environment and contribute to achieving Vietnam's commitment at COP26 to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and the National Action Plan on Climate Change for the period 2021-2030.”

The North Hanoi Smart City project, a joint venture between BRG Group (Vietnam) and Sumitomo Corporation (Japan), has a total investment of $4.2 billion, covering an area of nearly 272 hectares in Dong Anh District, Hanoi.

Mr. Takashi Yanai, Corporate Officer, General Manager of Industrial Park and Sustainable City Business Unit of Sumitomo Corporation, shared: “Sumitomo Corporation group aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and also would like to contribute to Vietnam's commitment to cut emissions to net zero by 2050. It will be achieved through developing technologies including renewable power generations and energy saving solutions and business models to create a sustainable energy cycle.”

This is the next session of the AZEC conference will be held from August 20-21 in Jakarta (Indonesia) with participation from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and government agencies from ASEAN countries, including Vietnam.

Previously, at the AZEC Conference chaired by Japanese Prime Minister Mr. Fumio Kishida in December 2023 in Japan, with the participation of Prime Minister Mr. Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister Mr. Kishida emphasized the importance of achieving the common goal of "net-zero emissions through various means" and a three-step breakthrough to achieve “decarbonization, economic growth, and energy security.”

Prime Minister Mr. Kishida mentioned Japan's actions in developing and introducing next-generation GX (Green Transformation) technologies and expressed willingness to share Japan's technology and experience through the AZEC platform, coordinating policies through the "Asia Zero Emission Center," establishing green supply chains through collaborative efforts including developing zero-emission industrial parks, and cooperation among businesses.

According to information released at this conference, Vietnam is the first partner that Japan supports in the AZEC initiative.

The Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) platform shares common principles among member countries, aiming to address the challenges of climate change, which is a global common challenge, while ensuring energy security and economic growth, and at the same time pursuing the goal of carbon neutrality/net zero emissions through various means depending on the specific conditions of each country.