The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World BankGroup, awarded its first EDGE resource efficiency certifications inVietnam, at a ceremony held in Ho Chi Minh City on December 16.

The Nam Long Investment Corp and FPT City Da Nang JSC are the firstcompanies to receive the Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies(EDGE) certification for the Bridge View apartment and the FPT officebuilding projects.

Adopting improved features suchas a low embodied-energy facade, energy-efficient lighting and low-flowfaucets, the Bridge View Apartment is expected to achieve reductions of20.02 percent in energy, 21.7 percent in water and 26.8 percent inmaterials.

Meanwhile, the FPT’s office building is atop-end office complex in Da Nang city with resource-efficientsolutions such as the utilisation of sewage treatment, rain collection,and cooling systems.

The building designed toaccommodate 10,000 employees in the next two years is expected to reduceenergy, water and construction material consumption by 20.7 percent,31.8 percent and 20.2 percent, respectively.

Head ofthe Department of Sciences, Technology and Environment under theMinistry of Construction Nguyen Trung Hoa said the ministry encouragesinvestors to build environmentally-friendly projects for the reductionof the greenhouse gas emissions.

To qualify for thedesign certification, companies must prove their building design willreduce energy, water, and embodied energy in building materials by atleast 20 percent compared to conventional buildings.-VNA