The average investment attraction rate per hectare of leased industrial land in export processing zones - industrial parks in Ho Chi Minh City reached US$6.23 million, which is considered relatively low.
The head of Ho Chi Minh City's Management Board of Export Processing Zones - Industrial Parks aims to gradually increase the average investment attraction rate per hectare to $15 million by 2025. This unit also recommends developing screening criteria, filtering, and selecting investment projects in line with the city's development planning and orientation.
On October 27, the Management Board of Export Processing Zones and Industrial Parks of Ho Chi Minh City (Hepza) held a conference to summarize 30 years of construction and development of export processing zones and industrial zones (EPZs - IZs) in the city.
According to Mr. Hua Quoc Hung, Chief of Hepza, after 30 years of development, up to now, Ho Chi Minh City has 3 EPZs and 14 IZs that have been put into operation with a total area of 3,811.71 hectares, accounting for 64% of the planned area of 23 EPZs city industrial zone, the occupancy rate reached 77%.
The city's EPZs and IZs have basically met the requirements set forth in terms of attracting investment capital, developing industrial production, creating jobs, importing technology and advanced management experience, and improving management skills, export value, step by step participating in the global production network and value chain…
According to Mr. Hung, the annual average export value of EPZs and IZs reached 7 billion dollars, accounting for over 15% of the total export turnover of Ho Chi Minh City; the average annual payment to the state budget is more than VND 22 trillion, accounting for 6% of the city's budget revenue (excluding crude oil). The EPZs and IPs have created jobs for more than 281,000 workers, accounting for 6% of the city's labor force.
However, Chief Hepza also acknowledged that there are still many shortcomings and limitations such as the quality and effectiveness of attracting investment in EPZs and IPs that have not met the requirements of in-depth development; have not yet attracted many projects with the large scale of investment capital, advanced technology, gray matter content, high added value, and pervasive nature. Most of the projects here have a small capital scale.
A corner of the infrastructure of the Tan Thuan export processing zone in Ho Chi Minh City
The reason is that in the early stages of development, the criterion of "filling" was placed on top to solve unemployment, access to technology, capital, and management qualifications from abroad, so there is no choice of the investment project. The attractiveness of EPZs and IZs in the city decreased, such have preferential policies, synchronous infrastructure, land sublease prices, and human resources; Difficulty in compensation and site clearance work, so there is a lack of the large land fund.
Notably, according to Mr. Hung, the land use efficiency is not high. The average investment attraction rate per hectare of leased industrial land reached $6.23 million. "This rate has increased over time, but it is still relatively low compared to the city's potential and advantages," said Mr. Hung, and he set a goal of gradually increasing the average investment attraction rate per hectare to 15 million dollars by 2025.
Another problem is that the development model of industrial zones has been slow to innovate. Industrial zones mainly develop in the direction of multi-industry and multi-field. Lack of specialized IZs, specialization, and linkage between EPZs and IZs with the outside area is still limited, and the level of localization is still low.
In the context of sustainable development, green economy, and the circular economy becoming the trend in the world..., Mr. Hung proposed a solution to step by step transform and develop EPZs and IZs in the direction of eco-industrial parks and high-tech industrial zones through technological innovation, enhancing added value and being environmentally friendly. The issue of training and developing human resources to meet the needs of restructuring investment was also raised by him.
In order to change, Mr. Hung also suggested that it is necessary to develop criteria for screening and selecting investment projects in EPZs and industrial zones in accordance with the planning and development orientation of Ho Chi Minh City...
Need to innovate
At the conference, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong assessed that after 30 years of development, EPZs and industrial zones in Ho Chi Minh City have promoted their potential and advantages, and make important contributions to the local socio-economic development. However, he also pointed out some limitations in the development of EPZs and industrial zones of the city.
That is, the quality and efficiency of attracting investment in EPZs and IZs have not yet met the requirements of in-depth development; the development model of industrial zones has been slowly innovated, industrial zones mainly develop in the direction of multi-sector, multi-field; infrastructure serving the IZ is still not synchronous; the quality of human resources has not yet met the needs of restructuring investment...
At the conference, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen acknowledged that after 30 years of establishment and development, EPZs - IZs have achieved certain achievements, fulfilling the mission of the first phase and creating momentum for the next steps of development.
In the new development phase, the EPZs - industrial zones of the city will contribute to gradually realizing Politburo's view and vision on the position and role of the city in the Southeast region, which is a modern, intelligent, dynamic, and creative city.
According to Mr. Nen, the city now has many advantages in the process of integration, and its position, role, potential, and prestige are increasing. The city is assigned the responsibility of continuing to be the nucleus of the southern key economic region, the economic locomotive of the whole country, and must continue to be a pioneer in the new period. Therefore, in the current industrial context, he believes that EPZs and IPs must change to a new model based on innovation and science, and technology.
This requires EPZs and IZs to focus on comprehensive and drastic improvements to eliminate old technologies, use raw materials and fuels with high emission levels, and restructure towards a sustainable ecological industry, cycle based on technology, and new materials...
In order to effectively implement the set goals, according to Mr. Nen, it is necessary to focus on perfecting the planning and investing in infrastructure development; boldly remove and remove from the planning the EPZs and IZs that are not feasible. Management must innovate strongly to keep up with the needs of the new period.
In the immediate future, he asked the Management Board of EPZs and EPZs to focus on researching and perfecting a new development model in the direction of strengthening the connection of IZs and EPZs to form industrial clusters. Along with that, focus on attracting large-scale, high-tech industrial projects, step by step perfecting planning, institutions, policies, and legal corridors to implement decentralization and authorization.
(Saigon Times)
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