The Ho Chi Minh City hi-tech zone has been identified as the driving force behind the city’s development with its main tasks of reeling in investment and expertise and training human resources.

At a working session with the HCM City hi-tech zone and hi-tech agricultural zone on December 23, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Le Thanh Hai said the city plans to have 24 industrial and processing zones that focus on developing high technologies to support production.

These zones are required to look towards creating an environment for research and product development.

By the end of 2013, the HCM City hi-tech zone has had 59 valid investment licences with total investment capital of 2.2 billion USD. In 2013 alone, it received an investment of 236.8 million USD.

By 2018, it is expected to lure 60 hi-tech projects worth 3 billion USD and by 2020, it aims to train 10,000 engineers and researchers and make an export value of 20 billion USD.

The city’s hi-tech agriculture zone, covering 88.17 ha, has so far housed 14 projects with total investment of 450 billion VND (21.15 million USD). It is focusing on creating high-yield plant and animal varieties and producing bio-products among others.-VNA