Investors worry about power and water shortages and weak infrastructure in new industrial park in Ho Chi Minh City

Mr. Nguyen Tan Phong, Deputy General Director of Tan Thuan Company Limited, spoke at the conference - Photo: HP

On May 9, at the conference announcing the planning of industrial parks (IPs) in Ho Chi Minh City for the period 2021 - 2030, vision 2050 and solutions to attract investment in 2025, many businesses raised specific challenges.

Small scale will be less attractive

According to the plan, Ho Chi Minh City will have 14 new industrial parks. However, only Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park Phase 3 is large-scale (500ha), the rest are mostly between 100-300ha. This number, according to investors, is quite small to attract capital, especially in the context of increasing investment rates.

A representative of an industrial development company in Ho Chi Minh City commented: "If the areas are located close to each other, they should be grouped together and an experienced investor should be selected to develop them. A scale of 100-300 hectares is a bit small and not attractive."

Mr. Nguyen Tan Phong - Deputy General Director of Tan Thuan Company Limited (investor in the construction of Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone, District 7) - analyzed that when developing an industrial park according to an ecological or high-tech model, the land reserved for trees, technical infrastructure, and social amenities alone accounts for 20 - 30% of the land fund.

Thus, with an area of ​​only 200 - 300 hectares, the remaining area for factory development will not be much, while the investment and operating costs are not small.

A similar situation was also shared by Mr. Phan Minh Toan Thu, Deputy General Director of Kinh Bac Urban Development Corporation.

He said that Kinh Bac currently has many orders, such as a 20-hectare data center project with a total investment of 300 - 500 million USD, but they require a power source of 4,500 MW and a water volume of 15,000 - 20,000 ^m3 /day.

One issue raised by many businesses is the lack of clarity in the definition of what is "high technology", a factor that directly affects access to incentives and support policies.

Focus on attracting high-tech application projects

Mr. Vo Van Hoan, Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee - Photo: HP

Mr. Hang Vay Chi - Vice President of Ho Chi Minh City Business Association (HUBA), President of Viet Huong Group - said that it is necessary to soon have a clear set of criteria to classify industries, determine incentives when entering industrial parks and clarify the role of management units such as the management boards of the zones.

In reality, there are places where when businesses ask, the management board tells them to "ask the People's Committee", while these units should play the role of the first bridge.

In addition, according to Mr. Chi, we should not only focus on attracting high-tech industries but ignore traditional manufacturing industries with high added value, thanks to the process of cooperation, continuous improvement in production and brand building.

"It is necessary to pay attention to businesses that produce high-end products, the value of innovation is also considered in the high-tech group" - Mr. Chi shared.

After listening to comments from the business community and investors, Mr. Vo Van Hoan, Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, affirmed that the city's industrial development orientation in the coming period is high-tech industry .

Accordingly, the difference needs to be clearly defined: Industrial parks and export processing zones are places that attract businesses applying high technology to the production of consumer products.

"After many years, industry has developed to its limit, when the labor force is old, so is management technology. The world is moving into new fields and the role of the city's industry must change to develop," said Mr. Hoan.

To realize this orientation, Mr. Hoan suggested that relevant units, including HEPZA, develop and announce a plan to implement the planning because "without detailed orientation, investors will not know what to calculate".

Prioritize high technology, green industry

Mr. Le Van Thinh - Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA) - said that this conference only announced the overall planning on the scale and location of 14 new industrial parks. The specific planning contents for each location are still under construction.

HEPZA will continue to carry out detailed planning, exploiting the advantages of each area to the fullest, orienting the development of high-tech industrial parks, creating great added value; at the same time, prioritizing attracting green, circular and environmentally sustainable industries.

"The city's industrial development sector is nearing saturation. If there is no change, it will not be able to meet development requirements. We will have a technical filter on the development orientation of industrial parks in the direction of attracting investment in high-tech applications, and for specific industries, investors will choose suitable enterprises," said Mr. Thinh.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chu-dau-tu-lo-hut-dien-nuoc-ha-tang-yeu-trong-khu-cong-nghiep-moi-o-tp-hcm-20250509140806577.htm