Government stops imports of outdated equipment

Vietnam has put a halt to the import of outdated second-hand machinery, equipment and production lines because they are energy hungry and harmful to the environment.

The proposal by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) was recently approved by the Prime Minister in an effort to limit the flow of antiquated technologies into the country.

Relevant ministries plan to review the list of items that must undergo quality-control checks before import and issue technical standards for better management.

Earlier, the MoST recommended Vietnamese enterprises be careful of buying second-hand machinery and equipment from China.

The move was in response to China’s announcement that it planned to close 2,250 enterprises in 18 manufacturing sectors that used inefficient and outdated technology.

Nguyen Phu Cuong, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Department of Science and Technology, said the import of outdated machinery and equipment would turn the country into a landfill site for discarded technologies.

“Putting a stop to the import of used machinery and equipment of low quality will help prevent this from happening,” he added.

Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan in an on-line dialogue with the public via the Government’s e-portal on May 5 said that incentives would be given to enterprises to encourage technology transfer.

He added that machinery, equipment and production lines would be checked for quality by experts and scientists before they are imported into Vietnam.

According to the minister, many domestic enterprises, especially of small and medium , still applied technologies dating from the 1960s or 1970s.

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