City’s industrial parks harvest fruit

illustration photo

The EPZs and IPs attracted nearly $277.5 million between January and March this year, an increase of more than 92 per cent over the same period last year, reported Hepza, the EPZ and IP regulator. Of this total, $243.5 million was sourced from the foreign sector, an increase of 97.3 per cent and $34 million came from domestic sources, up 65 per cent.

Explaining reasons for the surge, Hepza spokesperson Ho Xuan Lam said it came from new openings and announcements last year, such as the Vie-Pan Techno Park for Japanese support industry firms, the first of its kind in the southern hub.

He added that new investments were in-line with the city’s priorities in attracting investment from engineering, electronics, information technology, food processing, chemical, and rubber production firms. Hepza felt encouraged that, in particular, high-tech projects and support industries were a major source, Lam said.

The Vie-Pan Techno Park, with $31 million in investment capital in the first stage, is under construction in Nha Be District and has a unique business model. The park workshops are pre-fabricated, so tenants merely have to set up their specific equipment before production can begin. Work began in February but tenants from Japan had already signed up before the ground-breaking ceremony due to its offer of easy entry, Vie-Park’s CEO Jinjiro Kimura claimed.

Lam from Hepza said that in the coming time the city government would only issue licenses to new industrial park developers if they meet the city’s high requirements on social infrastructure such as a school, clinic and public revenue as well as technical infrastructure conditions.

In the second quarter, Hepza has said it will work even harder to assist in the construction of Vie-Pan Techno park and An Ha, Dong Nam and Tan Phu Trung industrial parks. It added that it would aid in calling on investors for the Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone.