HCM City eyes software park expansion

HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City is waiting for the Government’s approval to expand a chain of software parks, including those in other provinces, following the success of its Quang Trung Software City (QTSC).

Since the first QTSC was built in District 12 more than 13 years ago, it has grown into a chain that includes QTSC 2, which is now awaiting land allocation, and others at the Vietnam National University of HCM City in Thu Duc district, the VNPT complex in District 10, and the HCM City University of Technology.

Le Thanh Liem, Vice Chairman of the city People's Committee, said at a ceremony on January 8 to confer the Labour Medal, second class, on the Department of Information and Communications, that creating the chain would be significant to the city's development.

Under the proposed programme, the city together with some southern provinces will set up and upgrade infrastructure for IT development.

Another Quang Trung Software City is planned in Da Lat city, the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.

All the parks in the chain will be expected to follow the standards of the first QTSC.

Nguyen Duc Chung, head of the municipal Department of Information and Communication's planning section, said preparations for a QTSC in Da Lat have been completed and the establishment is waiting for approval from the Government.

Asked about QTSC 2 in HCM City, Chung said though surveys have been done at several places, the location has not been decided.

The venues considered include a 41ha plot in Tan Binh district, the Thu Thiem New Urban Area, Long Phuoc island in District 9, and Cu Chi district.

Le Thai Hy, Director of the department, said 120 companies with total registered capital of 2.4 trillion VND (109.5 million USD) operate in the QTSC.

They include four leading global companies — HP, IBM, KDDI, and HITACHI – and 10 others nominated among the top 50 companies in Vietnam.

The companies employ 18,260 people, and last year had combined revenues of 220 million USD, an increase of over 30 percent year-on-year.-VNA