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Monday, 10/03/2025 | 04:44

Project activities

Mid-term Evaluation of the Vietnam Scaling Up Energy Efficiency Project

16:40 - 11/10/2024

vsuee

The World Bank delegation conducted a field mission and carried out the mid-term review of the Vietnam Energy Efficiency for Industrial Enterprises Project (VSUEE) from October 7 to 11, 2024.

As part of the mid-term evaluation, the mission aimed to identify the current challenges and obstacles the project is facing and explore opportunities and solutions to promote its progress. The World Bank delegation worked with stakeholders in Vietnam for a week to address concerns related to the Project and resolve remaining issues.
The World Bank team engaged with various stakeholders, including: the Department of Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Development, Ministry of Industry and Trade (the project's hosting agency), Saigon-Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (the Risk Sharing Facility management unit), the State Bank of Vietnam, and participating banks such as Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), Techcombank, Ho Chi Minh City Development Bank (HDB), Bac A Bank (BAB), along with several enterprises with potential energy-saving investment projects.
The delegation’s kick-off meeting with the Ministry of Industry and Trade focused on discussing the overall progress of the Project, challenges faced by energy-saving investment projects, resolving bottlenecks between the participating banks, and proposing viable solutions.
The World Bank team also worked with the International Cooperation Department of the State Bank of Vietnam to find solutions to encourage and promote banks to sign agreements to participate in the project, as well as the potential for restructuring the project’s financial mechanisms.
To gain a deeper understanding of the concerns and challenges of the project’s participants, on the morning of October 9, 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in collaboration with the World Bank, organized a roundtable on "VSUEE Project Implementation Promotional Measures: Challenges and Opportunities". Attending the event were representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the World Bank, the State Bank, banks participating in the project, some industrial enterprises, and energy service companies.
During the roundtable, most of the time was spent sharing and discussing the difficulties faced by participants in the project. Some of the common issues for banks include having joined the project but not yet signing master guarantee agreements with the implementing units, and challenges related to guarantee fees (commitment and guarantee fees), guarantee payment timelines, project preparation time for enterprises, and the evaluation and credit approval of energy-saving sub-projects by the banks.
Many solutions to promote the implementation of the VSUEE Project were shared during the roundtable.
To address the remaining challenges, many participants suggested that financial institutions be encouraged to sign the MGA. At the same time, technical assistance should be provided to identify and develop projects and help complete credit documentation. It was also proposed that the Green Climate Fund (GCF) consider reducing guarantee fees and extending both the technical assistance phase and the guarantee issuance period accordingly.

Dr. Yuge Ma, a representative of the World Bank, shared experiences from implementing similar projects in India.
Wrapping up the mission, the World Bank delegation, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and SHB agreed to propose several solutions to resolve the challenges and promote the project, for example suggesting that SHB should issue guarantees for 1-3 pilot projects to scale up and enhance communication efforts, expanding the range of sectors for energy efficiency and conservation projects (such as agriculture, fisheries, and transportation), and accepting new investment projects (not just retrofits or technology replacements).
Photo of the World Bank's delegation at the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The Vietnam Energy Efficiency for Industrial Enterprises Project (VSUEE) is funded by the Green Climate Fund through the World Bank in Vietnam, with the Ministry of Industry and Trade as the project’s hosting agency.
The VSUEE Project was developed to promote energy efficiency and conservation in Vietnam's industrial sector, contributing to national energy-saving goals, ensuring energy security, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, addressing climate change, and supporting the overall objectives of the Vietnam National Energy Efficiency Programme (VNEEP) Phase 3, as well as the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation in the energy and industrial sectors.
VSUEE Project Management Board.

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Participating Financial Institutions