Economic growth and broad electrification in Viet Nam lead to an increase in demand for energy. At the same time, the accelerated energy generation causes rising CO2 emissions and environmental damages. It is estimated that 20 per cent of the energy consumption and 10 per cent of the CO2 emissions in Viet Nam can be reduced by applying new approaches in construction and management of buildings. However, there is a lack of necessary skills for the use of energy-efficient materials and the implementation of modern construction techniques.

In order to address this issue, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH supports the cooperation between the College of Urban Works Construction (CUWC) and the German partners Berufsförderungswerk (BFW) Bau Sachsen, Xella Baustoffe, iproplan and bau msr. In the frame of develoPPP.de, a programme commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the partners worked together with the aim to promote vocational training in the Vietnamese construction sector and improve knowledge and skills on new construction materials and methods as well as their direct application into practice. The construction of a state-of-the-art energy-efficient model house, which was inaugurated on 20 April, offers an opportunity for hands-on, practical training in environmental friendly and energy efficient technologies. Representatives of the Ministry of Construction (MoC), the German partner company BFW Bau Sachsen and GIZ as well as the management, teachers and students of CUWC attended the ceremony at the premises of CUWC.

“The construction of the model house was a joint effort of CUWC, MoC, the German partner companies and sponsors covering the planning and the construction process, the provision of construction materials and the transfer of knowledge”, Mr Bui Hong Hue, Rector of CUWC, explained. Mr Petzsche, Project Coordinator at BFW Bau Sachsen, informed that during the construction process experts of the German partner companies provided further training on energy-efficient construction materials and methods for the teaching staff of CUWC.

During the project phase some major  intended results were achieved. Efforts are still needed to include elements of energy-efficient and environmental-friendly construction in the existing training programme at CUWC and the implementation methods of practical training phases at the model house need to be defined so that students have the opportunity to put what they have learnt into direct practice. Further training activities for teaching staff of CUWC took place and has to be finalized to enable CUWC staff to demonstrate at the model house how construction materials are correctly used and handled and how energy generation and insulation works in reality. Ms Kreibich, Technical Advisor of GIZ, highlights that the model house pilot should not only be integrated in the training programme at CUWC, it can also be used to offer workshops and information sessions for interested skilled workers and management of Vietnamese companies to improve their skills on energy-efficient and environmental-friendly construction methods and materials.

Mr Nguyen Dinh Toan, Vice Minister of MoC, emphasized the importance of a further intensive, outcome oriented collaboration of CUWC and the German partners: “Options for the sustainable use of the model house, which is an important basis for the improvement of the training at CUWC, need to be defined and implemented. Also, further research, training as well as technology transfer is needed in order to achieve the integration of green-building technology in the vocational training programmes of skilled workers in the construction sector in Viet Nam.”