HCM City readies land to expand infrastructure

HCM City (VNS/VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City authorities promise to offer competitive land rentals and other incentives at industrial parks (IPs) and export processing zones (EPZs) besides improving the business environment and simplifying administrative procedures to attract investment.

The city has earmarked lands on which infrastructure can be built to serve investors in industrial parks, according to its People’s Committee.

Seventeen of the city’s planned 19 EPZs and IZs are operational with almost 1,800ha available to investors.

The city is speeding up investment in some new IPs like the 200ha Vinh Loc 3 IP in Binh Chanh district, and plans to expand the Hiệp Phước Industrial Park by 392.89ha.

The city is expected to have 23 EPZs and IZs with a total of 5,797.62ha by the end of this year.

It has established a group chaired by Nguyen Thanh Phong, chairman of the People’s Committee, to reduce the investment licensing process by at least 50 percent.

It is also committed to addressing all problems faced by businesses, who can communicate directly with the Department of Planning and Investment.

Dao Xuan Duc, deputy head of the HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA), said the infrastructure at many of the city’s IPs and EPZs fell short of investors’ needs.

EPZs and IZs must invest in infrastructure to meet the investment needs of businesses, he said.

“It is also necessary to set up zones for supporting industries to regulate land lease prices and attract investors into sectors targeted by the city and the Government.”

Experts said the city should switch to newer models of IPs and EPZs to continue to attract investment, while ensuring it has appropriate incentives and policies during the transition process.

According to the General Statistics Office, the city attracted 1.6 billion USD worth of FDI in the first five months to rank third in the country behind only Bac Lieu (4 billion USD) and Ba Ria-Vung Tau (1.9 billion USD) provinces.

Vietnam remains appealing to foreign investors who continue to invest, especially in the southern economic hub comprising HCM City, despite the pandemic.

The city expects to welcome a wave of investments post-pandemic when US, European and Japanese investors move their production lines to Vietnam, experts have said.

Priority should be given to high-tech projects that could produce high-quality products, they said.

In 2019 the city had attracted $8.3 billion worth of foreign investment.

Before the outbreak the city had set itself a target of 8.5 percent economic growth this year.

The city aims to have 44,000 new businesses that create 135,000 jobs this year./.