A view of Phu My 3 Specialised Industrial Park in the southern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau. The zone keeps improving services and infrastructure to attract more investor. — VNS Photo

Thanh Binh Phu My is the developer of the Phu My 3 Specialised Industrial Park in the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau. Viet Nam News speaks with Toshio Kazama, the companys managing director, about the investment environment in Ba Ria – Vung Tau and the parks efforts to attract more tenants.

Can you tell us about the performance of the Phu My 3 Specialised Industrial Park since its opening?

Toshio Kazama, Thanh Binh Phu My's managing director

Phu My 3 Specialised Industrial Park (Phu My 3 SIP) is one of two model industrial parks developed under the co-operation and development agreement signed by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in November 2011.

A perfect combination of strategic geographic location, international standard infrastructure, professional consultants and active support from the two Governments is a powerful magnet that attracts investors to Phu My 3.

Last year Phu My 3 SIP completed construction of the first phase with world-class infrastructure and utilities.

The industrial park handed over 40ha of land with technical infrastructure to Nitori Furniture Ba Ria -- Vung Tau invested by Nitori Holdings of Japan.

At present the park is proceeding with handover of land to other investors.

We will continue to step up our working programmes with the governments of Viet Nam and Japan and accelerate international co-operation and investment promotion to welcome investors from Japan, Europe, America, and Asia as well as businesses in Viet Nam, offering more incentives to customers and creating socio-economic growth momentum for Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province and the Southern Key Economic Zone in general.

There is talk that many major companies do not want to invest in Ba Ria – Vung Tau because of complicated investment procedures and issues related to land acquisition. What are your thoughts on this? What are the biggest challenges your industrial zone faces there?

For years Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province has championed development of industry through active investment attraction together with environmental control. With this policy, the province attracts foreign investment selectively.

Investment projects associated with port advantages, use of high technology, value addition, low energy consumption, and environment friendliness receive priority.

The procedures for appraising projects take time.

Phu My 3 SIP, as a key project of Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province with a core value of pursuing and creating sustainable development with a strong focus on environment protection, highly appreciates the provinces spirit of sustainable development.

Trusted by Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province, the park is now attracting sectors such as heavy industry, chemicals, petrochemicals, basic materials, plating, etc...

But balancing the provinces investment procedures and satisfying investors demand is challenging. Each industrial park should have its own investment promotion strategy in line with the policy of the province. However, reducing the time taken to issue licences, streamlining procedures and creating favourable conditions for investors and enterprises is a key mission of the province.

In Ba Ria-Vung Tau and its neighbouring provinces, there are many industrial parks. What does your company do to attract tenants and be more competitive?

Built on an area of 999ha in Phuoc Hoa Commune, Tan Thanh District, Phu My 3 SIP possesses many strengths that appeal to investors. The master plan of the park was designed by professional international consultancy firms Nikken Sekkei and Nippon Koei to meet the diverse demands of a wide range of sectors from light industry to heavy industry, multi-sectoral industry, ports and logistics.

This advantage will enable the park to attract investment following the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the upcoming Viet Nam – Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

Another advantage for the park is its favourable location with excellent access to key traffic infrastructure such as National Highway 51, National Highway 1A, Ho Chi Minh – Long Thanh Dau Giay Expressway, Bien Hoa – Vung Tau Expressway, Trans – Asia Road, inter-regional highways, inter-port roads and inter-industrial zone roads. It is 65km from Tan Son Nhat International Airport and 28 km from Long Thanh New International Airport.

Such convenient transportation allows customers to save much time and cost. Moreover, it is very easy to reach the Cai Mep – Thi Vai deep-water seaport (only 4km), which is capable of accommodating vessels of up to 200,000 DWT and developing into an international hub for trade and transportation.

It also has world-class technical infrastructure and utilities designed and built by professional contractors from Japan with the aim of best serving investors. Accordingly, the park has four specialised functional areas: a supporting industries zone, a heavy industries zone, a port and logistics zone, and an administrative and service area.

Furthermore, Phu My 3 SIP is fuelled by rich natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas and condensate, and tenants have an assured and steady supply of electricity and water.

How do you plan to increase your occupation rate?

With the aim of becoming a model industrial park belonging to the province-based economic growth programme of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Phu My 3 SIP has not only comprehensively developed infrastructure (electricity, water, internet, gas etc…) but also provides all kinds of investment support services in Japanese, English and Vietnamese.

The industrial park is committed to providing the highest incentives and best business condition to its tenants. The legal consultancy and support team of the industrial park will assist customers in dealing with all aspects related to investment procedures, legal issues, recruitment, logistics and on-site customs services.

With a business philosophy of “Customer is First,” in which customers are placed on top, our management board is always ready to resolve all difficulties and clear all obstacles for investors and acts as a bridge between investors and local authorities, helping simplify administrative procedures and reduce processing time.

Being a modern and environmentally sustainable industrial park is the operating principle of Phu My 3 SIP. —VNS