#Resolution6619 #Environment #Environmental Permit #EIA #Enterprise #Wastegas #Wastewater #VietnamEconomy #Procedural Reform #TimKiemTop
If emissions standards are drastically relaxed to save economic growth, will you accept the trade-off in air and water quality where you live?
Resolution 66.19/2026/NQ-CP is creating huge debate in the business, environmental and industrial investment communities when a series of procedures related to EIA and environmental clearance are reduced and more strongly decentralized to localities.
The most notable point lies in raising the threshold for exhaust gas and wastewater flow requiring environmental permits. This means thousands of small and medium-sized manufacturing facilities can reduce procedural pressure, save operating costs and speed up investment.
Noteworthy change table
Contents of Old Regulations New Regulations
Emission threshold requiring a permit ≥ 5,000 m³/hour ≥ 100,000 m³/hour
Domestic wastewater ≥ 50 m³/day must have environmental clearance. Environmental registration only
Decentralized processing Concentrated at the provincial level Stronger at the commune/province level
Subjects subject to EIA Broadening and narrowing significantly
Business costs can decrease sharply
Popular spending categories in the past
EIA documents range from 80 million to 500 million VND
Environmental license from 30 million to 200 million VND
The cost of waiting for the procedure is monthly to a whole year
The opportunity cost of project delay is billions of VND
Industries benefit greatly
• Textile and dyeing
• Food processing
• Production of construction materials
• Mechanical processing
•Small and medium scale factory
• New industrial park in the province
However, environmental experts also began to ask harsh questions. When the emission threshold increases from 5,000 to 100,000 m³/hour, will there be a "gray area" for businesses to split capacity to avoid licenses?
Two-way viewing angle
Business perspective Environmental perspective
Reduce procedure Risk of loose supervision
Accelerate investment. Difficult to control local pollution
Attracting FDI Pressure on rivers, lakes and air
Increase production competition. Concerns about post-inspection not being strong enough
It is worth noting that Vietnam is trying to balance between GDP growth and green transformation pressure. While China once tightened the environment after a period of hot development, Vietnam is now following the direction of "reducing barriers first, increasing post-control later".
Many experts believe that if the environmental inspection system is not strong enough, loosening conditions could cause industrial parks to incur pollution risks similar to those that caused great controversy in the past.
The impact can be seen as early as 2026–2027
Impact Capabilities
High accelerated industrial project
Manufacturing FDI poured into Cao province
Local environmental pressure Moderate to high
Civil pollution complaints may increase
Industrial GDP Growth Positive short-term
Some businesses see this as an "unlock" for production after many years of lengthy procedures. But for people living near industrial zones, the story is not so simple
Is Vietnam truly reforming smartly to compete in global manufacturing, or is it entering a shift?environmental gambling, the consequences of which will only appear after a few years
#Industry #Pollution #Investment #Industrial Park #Economy #Sustainable Development #Vietnam #Living Environment #Emissions #Wastewater
