Building green social housing does not increase costs

The above comment was made at the workshop "Realizing 'green' social housing" held this morning (August 22) in Ho Chi Minh City, organized by Saigon Economic Magazine in collaboration with FiCO Tay Ninh Cement Joint Stock Company.

At the workshop, experts and businesses said that building “green” social housing and implementing sustainable real estate projects are not only practical actions for businesses and the Government to implement the Net Zero commitment by 2050, but also help businesses expand their business. Currently, sustainability and environmental friendliness are increasingly considered by customers and partners as important factors in decision making, thereby contributing to promoting purchasing power.

Mr. Ha Quang Hung - Deputy Director of the Department of Housing and Real Estate Market Management (Ministry of Construction) said that in addition to issuing Decision No. 2161/QD-TTg, the Prime Minister has assigned ministries and branches to supplement mechanisms and incentive policies for individuals and organizations participating in the development of green housing, energy saving, and low-emission housing.

"The development of green and energy-saving buildings has been approved by the highest authorities of Vietnam. Thus, it can be seen that we need to implement energy-saving projects in general and green housing projects in particular, which is extremely urgent at this time," affirmed Mr. Ha Quang Hung.

With the view that developing "green" social housing will cost more construction costs, according to Mr. Vu Linh Quang - member of the Board of Directors of the Vietnam Green Building Council, greening social housing is not costly for businesses at all. Currently, suppliers of equipment and materials can provide "green" materials at reasonable prices, just need to have optimal design solutions.

"On average, "green" housing now usually costs less than 1% of the total investment cost. Even if we have a solution for low-rise houses, it may not increase. This depends entirely on the design consulting team, the material supply team, and the construction contractor. All of these factors combined will not increase the cost of "green" social housing," said Mr. Vu Linh Quang.