In the first quarter, there were 16 operating IPs with 2,300 ha of leasable area in the city. — Photo batdongsan

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) — Industrial parks in HCM City attracted US$425 million in FDI in Q1, an increase of 50 per cent year-on-year, according to the latest report from Savills.

In the first quarter, there were 16 operating IPs with 2,300 ha of leasable area in the city.

The local authority has announced plans to open seven new IPs, covering 2,000 ha, in a bid to welcome new streams of FDI, especially in textile, services and food processing sectors.

HCM City is the economic hub of the Southern Key Economic Zone (SKEZ), which receives the largest number of FDI projects.

In the first half of the yea, England had the largest investment, accounting for 59 per cent of FDI, followed by the British Virgin Islands at 15 per cent and Korea at 10 per cent.

The SKEZ includes surrounding provinces, such as Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Long An and Ba Ria - Vung Tau.

The zone comprises 106 operating IPs with a total area of 33,500 ha. The IPs are located near national highways, provincial roads, international airports, railways and ports.

Viet Nam has asked local authorities to scale down or even close industrial parks with low occupancy rates to make room for other development plans.

Notably, Ba Thien IP in the northern province of Vinh Phuc and Cam Ranch IP in the southern central province of Khanh Hoa have reportedly had their investment certificates revoked.

Because of rising environmental concerns, local authorities have announced they will only select hi-tech investors with a limited number of employees.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, as of July, there were 299 IPs in Viet Nam with a total area of 84,000 ha, of which the total leasable area was 56,000 ha (66 per cent). The leased area has 46 per cent occupancy.

There are 212 operating IPs of under 60,000 ha land area, and 87 IPs of under 24,000 ha land that are under site clearance and infrastructure construction.

To welcome foreign investors, HCM City's infrastructure has developed rapidly with various projects underway, such as HCM City-Long Thanh highway, Metro subway line 1 and ring roads.

In early 2016, the Ring Road 3 will commence construction to connect with Nhon Trach District of Dong Nai province. Construction on the Ben Luc – Long Thanh highway will begin at the same time.

Ha Noi IPs

On June 20, 22.7 km under the Ha Noi – Hai Phong Expressway project opened to the public. Most IPs are located along National Highway No. 5 (Ha Noi - Hai Phong), Thang Long -Noi Bau Expressway, National Highway No. 2 and National Highway No. 18 (Bac Ninh -Mong Cai). — Photo tapchigiaothong

The Northern Key Economic Zone covers seven provinces and municipalities, including Hai Phong, Vinh Phuc, Bac Ninh, Hung Yen, Quang Ninh and Hai Duong. There are 46 IPs in the zone, covering a total area of more than 12,100 ha.

Most IPs are located along National Highway No. 5 (Ha Noi - Hai Phong), Thang Long -Noi Bau Expressway, National Highway No. 2 and National Highway No. 18 (Bac Ninh -Mong Cai).

There are a total of 12 operating IPs and high-tech zones in Ha Noi with a total area of 2,400 ha and 1,500 ha of leasable area. In the first four months of this year, Ha Noi's IPs attracted US$55.1mn in investment capital, increasing 52 per cent year-on-year.

There are a total of 588 projects in Ha Noi's Ips, including 312 FDI projects with total registered capital of US$4.85bn, and 276 domestic investment projects with more than US$530mn of registered capital.

Asian countries including Japan, China and Hong Kong continue to be the leading investors in Ha Noi's IPs, with projects mainly focusing on mechanical engineering, electronics and support industries.

On June 20, 22.7 km under the Ha Noi – Hai Phong Expressway project opened to the public.

The completion of this project (over 100km) in 2016 is expected to play an important role in connecting HaNoi, Hai Phong and Quang Ninh as well as the NKEZ and Hai Phong seaport. — VN