Hanoi builds Hoa Lac High-Tech Park into a valley of technology and innovation

(Chinhphu.vn) - Creativity, core technology and Vietnamese intelligence are converging at Hoa Lac High-Tech Park, Hanoi, opening a turning point in forming a scientific, innovative urban area in the west of the capital.

Mr. Truong Viet Dung - Member of the City Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee and Mr. Vu Xuan Hung - Member of the City Party Committee, Head of the Management Board of High-Tech Parks and Industrial Parks of Hanoi, chaired the workshop. Photo: VGP/Minh Anh

Hoa Lac High-Tech Park faces a golden opportunity for breakthrough

On the morning of December 3, the Management Board of High-Tech Parks and Industrial Parks of Hanoi City organized a scientific workshop on "Solutions for the development of Hoa Lac High-Tech Park to 2030, with a vision to 2045".

The workshop was attended by many Central and Hanoi leaders including: Mr. Pham Dai Duong - Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Head of the Central Strategic Policy Committee; Mr. Nguyen Quan - Former Member of the Party Central Committee, Former Minister of Science and Technology ; Mr. Truong Viet Dung - Member of the City Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee; Mr. Vu Xuan Hung - Member of the City Party Committee, Head of the Management Board of High-Tech Parks and Industrial Parks of Hanoi City, along with many experts and the business community.

Mr. Vu Xuan Hung - Member of the City Party Committee, Head of the Management Board of High-Tech Parks and Industrial Parks of Hanoi City delivered the opening speech at the workshop. Photo: VGP/Minh Anh

In his opening speech, Mr. Vu Xuan Hung - Head of the Management Board of High-Tech Parks and Industrial Parks of Hanoi City emphasized: Hoa Lac has been given special responsibility by the Central Government in many major strategies, from Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW, Resolution No. 15-NQ/TW to the Capital Law (amended). All of them position Hoa Lac as a key science and technology center, playing a core role in promoting the formation of a science, technology and innovation urban area in the west of Hanoi.

Notably, at the 18th Congress of the Hanoi Party Committee, General Secretary To Lam affirmed that Hoa Lac and the capital's innovation zones will become a "technology pole", one of three key innovation poles.

Hoa Lac was established in 1998, the first high-tech park in the country. After being managed by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the park was handed over to Hanoi at the end of 2023, opening a new development phase. With 109 projects, total registered capital of 116 trillion VND (equivalent to 5 billion USD), Hoa Lac brings together Viettel, FPT, Vingroup, VNPT, Nidec, Hanwha Aerospace, and key institutes and schools such as VKIST, NIC, Vietnam Space Center, Vietnam - Japan University, Vietnam - France University, FPT...

However, Mr. Vu Xuan Hung frankly admitted: Hoa Lac has not developed to the expected level. The new science and technology infrastructure has about 80 laboratories; the social, technical infrastructure and traffic connections are not attractive enough for investors; the specific institutions still lack openness; the high-quality human resources are not stable, mainly short-term labor.

The biggest bottleneck, according to Mr. Hung, is the difficulty in forming a synchronous research, development and production ecosystem. The connection between universities, research institutes and businesses is still fragmented, failing to create a truly “vibrant science and technology city”.

He affirmed that the decisive factor is still the people. When Vietnamese intelligence is properly promoted, Hoa Lac can become the leading national innovation center, the knowledge symbol of the Capital.

Conference scene. Photo: VGP/Minh Anh

Learning from Silicon Valley, nurturing an innovation ecosystem

At the workshop, many experts analyzed in depth the reasons why Hoa Lac has not met expectations and proposed fundamental solutions.

Mr. Nguyen Tu Quang - CEO of Bkav Corporation, cited experiences from Silicon Valley, Hsinchu (Taiwan - China) or Zhongguancun (China). These models are successful thanks to the convergence of fundamental factors including a visionary "chief architect"; a leading technical university; leading enterprises nurtured by schools and institutes; and a system of venture capital funds supporting from the early stages.

According to Mr. Quang, Hoa Lac lacks a strong connection with a large-scale technical university. Hoa Lac also needs to be more strongly connected with Cau Giay to form a model Smart City, creating a space for continuous innovation. If done correctly and with synchronous participation, he believes Hoa Lac can completely become the Silicon Valley of Vietnam.

Mr. Nguyen Tu Quang - CEO of Bkav Technology Group shared international experiences and made recommendations to help Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park become Vietnam's Silicon Valley. Photo: VGP/Minh Anh

From the perspective of an IT enterprise, Ms. Duong Kieu Oanh - Head of Digital Transformation and Digital Operation Department of FPT Software, said that FPT has had more than a decade of development in Hoa Lac, from 1,500 employees in 2013 to nearly 6,000 people today. This fact proves that this place has great attraction if equipped with appropriate infrastructure and policies. "There is an urgent need to build a real incentive mechanism for high-tech personnel, first of all, expanding the definition of "expert", supporting preferential credit for young people to settle down and start a business with peace of mind", Ms. Duong Kieu Oanh emphasized.

Regarding innovation, she proposed recognizing R&D costs as valid expenses, creating a corridor for research groups to dare to experiment and take risks. More importantly, it is necessary to create “big problems” at the national level to attract elite experts.

In the field of telecommunications and data, Mr. Nguyen Duy Nhan - Deputy Director of VNPT Hanoi, assessed that Hoa Lac has the potential to become the core of digital transformation of the capital. The IDC center meeting Uptime Tier III standards has become the data foundation for Hanoi, with fiber optic network, Cloud, AI, Big Data, IoT, Blockchain ready to serve businesses.

Mr. Pham Dai Duong - Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Head of the Central Strategic Policy Committee spoke at the workshop. Photo: VGP/Minh Anh

However, many “dip areas” of 4G/5G coverage still exist; there is a lack of BTS station locations; and specialized telecommunications infrastructure planning is slow to be issued. He proposed allowing the sharing of common infrastructure, digitizing all administrative procedures and piloting 6G Sandbox technology in Hoa Lac, and building a smart management system to operate synchronously throughout the area.

Researchers and experts at the workshop agreed that Hoa Lac needs strong incentives on technology enterprise tax, import tax on R&D machinery, long-term investment credit incentives, income tax incentives for R&D human resources and welfare housing policies for experts. These policies are the driving force for businesses to choose Hoa Lac as their technology “headquarters”.

Mr. Truong Viet Dung - Member of the City Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee delivered a concluding speech at the workshop. Photo: VGP/Minh Anh

Concluding the workshop, Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Truong Viet Dung said that Hanoi is finalizing the Project to develop Hoa Lac High-Tech Park until 2030, with a vision to 2045. "Hanoi aims to build Hoa Lac into a leading center for innovation, research, development and high-tech production in the country, making a great contribution to the industrialization and modernization of the capital," the Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee informed.

Mr. Truong Viet Dung said that the project focuses on strategic solution groups including promoting the completion of technical infrastructure, social infrastructure, science and technology infrastructure and connecting traffic. In particular, the top priority is to ensure the supply of high-quality, clean electricity; clean water for daily life and production; telecommunications, fiber optic cables and essential services "to the fence" of the project.

“Another important focus is to selectively attract investment, focusing on core technology; develop an innovation ecosystem; build outstanding policies on income, housing, tax, insurance, visa for experts; provide real incentives for R&D enterprises and data centers; and pilot technology sandbox models,” the Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee added.

In addition, Hanoi City also promotes administrative procedure reform in the direction of "one-stop shop, electronic connection". The Hoa Lac Management Board will be fully decentralized to ensure a transparent, favorable and effective investment environment. At the same time, it is tasked with attracting Vietnamese scientists abroad, leading experts and young talents.

Mr. Truong Viet Dung affirmed: “Hanoi has strong political determination and resources to develop Hoa Lac. In 2026 alone, the City plans to spend 4% of the budget on science, technology, innovation and digital transformation, equivalent to VND9,088 billion.”

“The aspiration to build Vietnam’s Silicon Valley is being realized with concrete steps. Hanoi calls on the business community, institutes and intellectuals to join hands in creating it, and the City is committed to accompanying and creating the most favorable conditions for all high-tech projects in Hoa Lac,” the Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee emphasized.

Hoa Lac High-Tech Park is at a special moment, where major decisions, long-term development strategies and the capital's technological aspirations meet. When the institution is open, the infrastructure is completed, elite human resources are attracted and the innovation ecosystem is properly invested, Hoa Lac has enough foundation to rise to the level of famous models in the world. It is not just a story of building a high-tech park, but also creating an intellectual space, a place where people gather who dare to think big, dare to do real things and dare to create new values ​​for the future of Hanoi in particular and Vietnam in general.

Mr. Nguyen Quan - former member of the Party Central Committee, former Minister of Science and Technology shared at the workshop. Photo: VGP/Minh Anh

“The lack of venture capital funds is one of the biggest barriers to the startup ecosystem, especially for technology and high-tech enterprises. For nearly two decades, Vietnam has not yet formed a proper fund. Establishing a fund using the State budget is fraught with many constraints; the private sector also faces difficulties; foreign investors are cautious, and domestic funds, if any, are only in the form of “business support”, not of a venture nature. In that context, Hanoi has pioneered the establishment of a venture capital fund, opening up a positive signal for Hoa Lac to nurture the hope of forming a complete innovation ecosystem,” said Mr. Nguyen Quan, former Minister of Science and Technology.

Minh Anh

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/ha-noi-kien-tao-khu-cong-nghe-cao-hoa-lac-thanh-thung-lung-cong-nghe-doi-moi-sang-tao-102251203140110947.htm