Yesterday, a new EKOCENTER, the 3^rd of its kind in Viet Nam and in Asia as a whole, officially opened its doors to the public at a residential area for low-income earners on Kinh Duong Vuong in Da Nang’s Lien Chieu District.

EKOCENTER is a modular community market that is run by a local woman entrepreneur, and it provides safe water, solar power and Internet access.

Integrating Coca-Cola’s sustainability priorities of well-being, women and water, EKOCENTERs focus on communities that are without access to basic goods and services.  At its core is an ‘off-the-grid’, modularly-designed kiosk that becomes a hub of community activity by providing a place of commerce as well as safe drinking water, solar power, and wireless communication.  The shop’s roof is installed with solar panels, supplied by Germany’s Solarkiosk Company, to provide enough green energy for the centre. 

The opening ceremony (Photo: vir.com.vn)

In addition, this new centre features a community house and an outdoor sports area.  The community house consists of a library, a classroom and a computer room. 

Most notably, the centre’s water treatment system can purify around 6,000 litres of water every day to serve the needs of up to 3,000 local people.

Addressing the opening ceremony, the Deputy Chairwoman of the municipal Women's Union, Ms Hoang Thi Thu Huong, said “The EKOCENTERs set up so far have helped to bring positive changes to local communities.  This venue in Da Nang will help to improve access to clean drinking water, free internet services, and lighting systems for local residents.  I hope that this idea will be expanded into other localities nationwide to bring benefits to even more people”.

EKOCENTER is a global initiative by Coca-Cola to bring clean water, solar power, and community centres to cities and villages throughout the world.  The first EKOCENTER in Asia was opened in Ho Chi Minh City on 23 January 2015, with a second opening in Ha Noi on 24 February 2016.