Binh Duong IPs - A Driving Force for Industrialisation and Modernisation

With its motto ‘Red carpets welcome investors and intellects’ and a complete reform of its administrative management and ‘one door’ policies, Binh Duong province has become one of the most attractive localities in Vietnam in terms of investment attraction and industrial park (IP) development.

Quickly filling IPs       

Since its first IP, Song Than, was set up in September 1995, Binh Duong has had 12 licensed or operational IPs with a total area of 2,431 hectares. Also, the province has 23 industrial complexes with 3,573 hectares in towns and districts. Most IPs are concentrated in the south of the province, near the international airport of Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City, and the meeting point of Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai. This place has convenient communication conditions to form the most dynamic economic zone within the key southern economic region. In recent years, Binh Duong has begun to develop IPs in its northern region to promote its economic restructuring.

The average area of an IP in Binh Duong is put at 202 hectare. My Phuoc is the largest IP in Binh Duong with 809 hectares and Binh Duong is the smallest with 16.5 hectares. Almost all local IPs have well-developed infrastructure facilities and connect with main roads, seaports and airports. As a result, IPs in Binh Duong have quickly been filled. The IPs of Song Than I, Dong An and Tan Dong Hiep A have been filled 95 per cent of their areas. The average filling rate of eight operational IPs is put at 86 per cent.

40 per cent of industrial production value

By December 2004, IPs in Binh Duong, except VSIP, had attracted 447 projects, including 285 foreign-invested projects, capitalised at USUS$1.131 billion, and 162 domestic projects, valued at VND 1,775 billion. Binh Duong has attracted foreign investors from 24 countries and territories. Taiwan has most investors in Binh Duong, accounting for 50 per cent of projects and 61 per cent of foreign investment capital. It is followed by the Republic of Korea with 16 per cent of projects and 19 per cent of registered capital, and British Virgin Island with over five per cent of projects and capital. Pham Van Hien, head of the Binh Duong Management Board of IPs, said that with its approaches of diversifying products, Binh Duong had attracted projects in various fields, such as textiles, garments, footwear, seafood and food processing, bicycle and spare part manufacturing, construction material production, and mechanics. Projects developed in local IPs are featured with high-tech, which has helped improve the quality of products, meeting the international standards. So far, over 353 enterprises in IPs have become operational. In 2004, these enterprises generated USUS$1.209 billion in revenues, up by 36 per cent against 2003, and USUS$523 million in export turnover, increasing 41.2 per cent. IPs in Binh Duong have created jobs for 98,000 workers.

Modern IPs in 2005-2010 period

Apart from nine IPs in the south and three in the north, in the 2005-2010 period, Binh Duong will continue to plan and build more IPs in the north, promoting the industrialisation and modernisation of local rural areas, exploiting effectively materials in the northern area of Binh Duong and the Central Highlands. Accordingly, Ben Cat district will have eight IPs with 2,989 hectares; Tan Uyen district, five IPs with 2,414 hectares; Phu Giao district, one IP with 220 hectares; Dau Tieng district, one IP with 270 hectares, six IPs with 1,775 hectares within the Binh Duong industrial-urban-service complex.

To develop IPs successfully and attract investment capital effectively, Binh Duong province will synchronously implement the planning of IPs on a basis of potential, avoiding environmental destruction, the building of IPs in combination with residential areas, socio-technical infrastructure facilities. The province will set up a fund for investment promotion, continuing a ‘one door’ mechanism and establishing an association of enterprises in IPs, which will act as the focal point to disseminate polices and provide support for enterprises. In addition, the province will promote the application of information technology, connecting the local Management Board of IPs with agencies and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to update information for enterprises. Vocational training schools will be built to supply skilled workers for enterprises, reducing costs of re-training activities and improving the attraction of investment of local IPs. A careful attention will be given to environmental protection by enforcing the Law on Environment for  sustainable development.

• Song Phuong