The information was made by Secretary of the municipal PartyCommittee Nguyen Thien Nhan at an international seminar themed “Vision forInnovation District in Ho Chi Minh City” on July 28.
According to Nhan, Thu Duc district will focus on researchand innovation, while District 2, with its Thu Thiem new urban area, will playa role as an international financial centre, and District 9 will be a researchand development centre, with the highlight of its Hi-tech Park.
The innovation district will concentrate on research, humanresources training and technology transfer, and contain of a service centre, ahi-tech manufacturing area and a space for culture and entertainment, he added.
The leader also revealed that within 2018, the city willorganise a contest for international consulting units to build a vision as wellas specific measures, and then make a master plan for the innovation district.
Ousmane Dione, Country Director of the World Bank in Vietnam,suggested Ho Chi Minh City consider the entire ecosystem of the innovationdistrict in terms of planning, policies, design, infrastructure andorganisation, not focusing only on technology.
Meanwhile, a representative from the municipal Department ofScience and Technology proposed the city carry out policies to attract andsupport investors as well as experts and scientists, and intensify connectivitybetween the innovation district and other centres in the city.
Ho Chi Minh City is the largest economic hub of Vietnam andhas a high-quality labour force, with its labour productivity posting 2.7foldhigher than the country’s average.
The city set a target of building an innovation district inline with the fourth industrial revolution in order to create an interactionbetween the fields of research, human resources training, and technology application,and to support such surrounding provinces as Dong Nai and Binh Duong to make adriving force for economic development in the southern region.-VNA