A 200-million USD electronic-chip production plant should be classified as a key national project, the HCM City People's Committee has decided.

The proposal for national status was submitted by Sai Gon Industry Corporation (CNS), which was assigned to design a plan as well as work on the facility.

Le Manh Ha, the vice chairman of the HCM City People's Committee, endorsed the proposal on Feb. 21.

As a key national project, the plant will receive favourable investment conditions.

Ha asked the corporation to identify the major consumption markets and to conduct research on appropriate application technology and human resources for the project.

CNS is one of the city's most powerful corporations operating in key industrial fields such as mechanical engineering, electronics, information technology, chemicals and commercial services. The chip production plant, the first to be built in Vietnam, is expected to be located in HCM City's Hi-Tech Park.

The project's strategic goal is to pave the way for the development of an electronic chip design while meeting the domestic demand of the products, according to Dang Ngoc Hung, CNS deputy general director.

Vietnam's demand for imported chips has increased significantly over the past decade, according to a survey by market research firm In-Stat.-VNA