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Mr. Pham Van Bac - Director General of Department of Construction Materials in the interview.
However, there are still difficulties and shortcomings in the consumption of NFB products. To better understand this issue, the reporter of the People's Army Newspaper had an interview with Mr. Pham Van Bac, Director General of Department of Construction Materials, Ministry of Construction.
Reporter: Could you please tell us the advantages and disadvantages between NFBs and FCBs?
Mr. Pham Van Bac: NFBs have the advantage of low emissions of harmful gases, using less fuels, using the wastes of a number of industries as raw materials. On the technical aspect, NFBs are less waterproof, have a very high strength, ensuring the stability of the construction works. In addition, the surface of the brick is flat, not warped, that improves the aesthetic factor. However, in the process of using NFBs in construction, the weight of these bricks is quite heavy, making hard to workers; The shape and design of the product are not diverse, there are not many options for consumers. In addition, the price of NFBs is 15 to 25% higher than that of FCBs, this is one of the main reasons why many customers are not interested in using this kind of brick.
FCBs have existed for many generations in Viet Nam and have caused many consequences, such as: Consuming lots of clay, fossil fuels as non-renewable resources; causing environmental pollution, especially production facilities with outdated technology; Large emissions of CO2 causing the greenhouse effect, the cause of global climate change. However, in Viet Nam, FCBs are still widely used due to their low cost, ease of construction and people's usage habits. In the face of the need of the country's construction that economic development must be associated with environmental protection for sustainable development, it is necessary to increase production and use of NFBs and limit FCBs.
Reporter: Over the past time, what mechanisms and policies have been issued by the Government and ministries to encourage the production and use of NBFs?
Mr. Pham Van Bac: On 28 April 2010, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 567/QD-TTg approving the Non-fired building materials (NFBM) development program to 2020 (Decision 567). After the Decision 567, the Ministry of Construction and other government agencies advised the Government to promulgate mechanisms and policies to accelerate the development of NFBs. For example, the Ministry of Construction has advised the Government to issue Decree No. 24a/2016/ND-CP dated 5 April 2016 on management of construction materials. In the Decree, there is a whole Chapter on investment in developing environmentally friendly building materials, that is NFB. On 16 April 2012, the Prime Minister issued Directive No. 10/CT-TTg on increasing the use of NFBMs and limiting the production and use of FCBs (Directive 10).
Regarding the regulation on using NFBMs in construction works, the Ministry of Construction has issued Circular No. 09/2012/TT-BXD and is now amended to Circular No. 13/2017/TT-BXD. Other ministries and sectors, such as the Ministry of Industry and Trade, also issued regulations on non-use of industrial promotion capital sources for fired clay material development projects; The Ministry of Finance has also issued circulars and advised the Government to promulgate mechanisms and policies to encourage investment in the production of non-fired materials, such as tax reduction for NFB producers importing foreign equipment. To date, the legal corridor for this field is basically sufficient.
Reporter: So far, how is the efficiency of the NFBMs development program to 2020?
Mr. Pham Van Bac: Up to date, the investment in manufacturing production lines and designs of NFB production has achieved the set goal, but the actual production has not reached the goal. For example, the goal of developing the production and use of NFBMs to replace the FCBs will reach 30% to 40% by 2020. However, at present, the investment is about 35% but the actual production is only achieved 26%, while product consumption is only about 20%.
Producing NFBs by vibro-press technology at Luu Xa Cement Plant (Thai Nguyen province).
Reporter: Currently, the consumption of NFBs is facing many difficulties, what is the cause?
Mr. Pham Van Bac: The development of NFBs still faces many difficulties due to the fact that there are many small scale production facilities, using outdated technology and products have not met the standards, so when they are put into the market but not welcomed by the people. Because when putting unqualified NFBs into use, it will affect the quality of the construction works such as cracking, peeling ... The next cause is that NFBs have higher price compared to FCBs and are more difficult in construction, people still have the habit of using FCBs. In addition, according to the Government's regulations, it is required to completely retire FCB production. In fact, some provinces have retired FCBs but there are still many provinces that allow investment in FCB products which have a great influence on the development of NFBs. In the past 10 years, according to our survey, in which localities the authorities from provinces to districts and communes strictly implemented the decisions and directives of the Prime Minister, there is very good NFB development with limited FCBs.
Reporter: What solutions should be applied to promote the NFB consumption market?
Mr. Pham Van Bac: In order to solve the difficulties for the consumption of NFBs, local authorities should drastically eliminate all FCB production facilities, strictly implement decisions and directives of the Prime Minister. In addition, the Government should provide timely support for investment loans, capital resources for production and business, and tax incentive policies to encourage investors of constructions, projects as well as people to consume NFBs. Also, disseminate the quality and superiority of NFBs so that people can recognize and replace manual bricks when building their civil works. The most important thing is that businesses producing NFBs need to invest in science and technology, research and overcome the weaknesses of NFBs to create diverse products in terms of design, quality assurance and reasonable price. In this way, the goal of retiring all FCB facilities in Viet Nam, contributing to environmental protection can be realized.
Reporter: Thank you!