VSIP Bac Ninh is busy looking for the fountain of youth to live on

The joint venture between Becamex IDC and Singapore’s Sembcorp Parks Holdings proposed Bac Ninh People’s Committee give VSIP Bac Ninh another 20 years, a source at the province’s Industrial Parks Management Authority said.

“VSIP wants to extend the project’s lifetime because it wants to enhance the effectiveness of this project,” said the source. Vietnam’s Investment Law, promulgated in 2005, restricts foreign direct investment projects to 50 years.

Bac Ninh People’s Committee this month sent a document to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung proposing the government meet VSIP’s wishes.

Chairman of the provincial committee Nguyen Nhan Chien said the extension would further create favourable conditions for the foreign investor to implement its project and contribute to the province’s economic development. The $103.7 million VSIP Bac Ninh Industrial Park and township, located on the border of Hanoi’s Gia Lam district and Bac Ninh province and 18 kilometres from downtown Hanoi, covers 700 hectares.

VSIP received an investment certificate for this project in 2007 and the industrial park, covering 500ha, will be home to non-pollutive, high-tech, high value-added, capital intensive industries such as those in the electronic and pharmaceutical sectors.

Furthermore, a 200ha township will be developed near the industrial park, including commercial and residential developments as well as services to support Bac Ninh province. This new industrial and township is part of VSIP’s big footprint in northern Vietnam after the success of two projects in southern Binh Duong province, VSIP I and VSIP II.

VSIP Bac Ninh has attracted several well-known transnational companies such as PepsiCo and Nokia. PepsiCo, the world’s second largest food and beverage manufacturer, decided to build a $70 million beverage factory there and Nokia will build a mobile phone manufacturing factory.

SP Setia, a leading Malaysian property developer, is preparing to develop a large eco-urban project within VSIP Bac Ninh.