Creating new development spaces for Vietnam's industrial ecosystem.

Creating a new industrial roadmap.

With the theme "Promoting Industrial Park Investment in the New Era," IPForum 2025, held on December 11th in Ho Chi Minh City, focused on improving the quality of capital attraction, developing self-reliant and self-sufficient production, optimizing industrial land use, and forming a generation of industrial parks associated with high-value, smart, and green projects.

*Delegates attending the Industrial Park Forum 2025. Photo: Minh Khue.*

According to Mr. Dao Xuan Duc, Chairman of the IPForum 2025, the event took place at a time when Vietnam had just completed the merger of 34 provinces and cities, opening up new development opportunities and creating momentum for industrial parks to enter a phase of extensive growth according to global standards.

“IPForum 2025 is tasked with creating a space for exchange, connection, and cooperation among infrastructure developers, investors, businesses, and experts, thereby promoting sustainable value, technological innovation, and improved governance. We expect the forum to soon reach international levels and become a reputable voice of Vietnam's industrial ecosystem,” Mr. Dao Xuan Duc emphasized.

*Mr. Dao Xuan Duc - Chairman of the IPForum 2025. Photo: Minh Khue.*

At the forum, Mr. Pham Van Nam, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Industrial Park Information Portal - the organizing unit - shared the strategic vision until 2030, emphasizing that Vietnam must create a "new map - new space - new driving force" for industrial park development, adapting to the trend of global supply chain shifts.

According to a report from the Vietnam Industrial Parks Portal, there are currently 478 industrial parks nationwide with a total area of 146,000 hectares, of which 101,600 hectares are industrial land with an occupancy rate of 53.2%; the remaining land is 47,500 hectares.

*Mr. Pham Van Nam - Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Industrial Park Information Portal. Photo: Minh Khue*

The target for 2030 is to expand to 600 industrial parks, adding 35,000 hectares, bringing the total area to 181,000 hectares. For industrial clusters, the number will increase from 1,100 to 2,000, adding 29,000 hectares. The total potential for new development by 2030 will reach 114,200 hectares. Therefore, effectively utilizing the existing industrial land is the focus of the new development strategy.

Four pillars driving a leap forward for Vietnam's industrial park ecosystem.

To effectively utilize these resources, Mr. Pham Van Nam stated that the strategy needs to be built on four key pillars. The first pillar is transforming the industrial park model from an "infrastructure provider" to a "value chain connectivity center," helping FDI and domestic businesses to connect more deeply, share technology, and expand markets.

The second pillar is to expand the development space of the region after administrative mergers, leveraging the advantages from the administrative unit merger process to form a regional investment brand.

Thirdly, the strategy emphasizes the need to upgrade industrial parks towards smart and sustainable development, integrating renewable energy, digital infrastructure, Industry 4.0 logistics, and smart city connectivity to create an attractive living and working environment and foster innovation.

The final pillar is to innovate vocational education to meet business needs, focusing on digital skills and automation, while simultaneously implementing a communication campaign to honor skilled workers and inspire aspirations for advancement in the industrial sector.

Besides the aforementioned pillars, international connectivity is identified as a crucial driving force for expanding the development space of the industrial park ecosystem. According to Mr. Nguyen Dong Trung, Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Cultural Diplomacy (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), economic diplomacy is being strongly implemented with the spirit of "putting people, localities, and businesses at the center of service."

*Mr. Nguyen Dong Trung - Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Cultural Diplomacy (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Photo: Minh Khue.*

Mr. Nguyen Dong Trung stated that each Vietnamese diplomatic mission abroad has become an active bridge, directly supporting localities and industrial zones in accessing markets, finding partners, and attracting new-generation FDI flows.

Citing notable activities in 2025, Mr. Nguyen Dong Trung mentioned the Japan-Mekong Delta Meeting in Can Tho (August 2025) and the Vietnam-Japan Local Cooperation Forum in Quang Ninh (November 2025) as prime examples of proactive efforts to connect Vietnamese industrial parks with international investment flows and strategic industrial corporations.

Representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also provided further information, stating that in 2025, key Vietnamese leaders conducted 75 diplomatic activities, a 1.5-fold increase compared to 2024; upgraded relations with 17 countries, bringing the total number of partners with "Comprehensive Partnership" status or higher to 42; established diplomatic relations with Tuvalu, bringing the total number of countries with relations with Vietnam to 194; and signed more than 330 cooperation agreements, a 2.5-fold increase compared to the previous year.

From there, Mr. Nguyen Dong Trung stated that, for 2026, the diplomatic sector will be more decisive in implementing economic diplomacy tasks, developing specific action plans for each key market, and establishing a mechanism for regular exchanges with partners to promote the implementation of high-level commitments and agreements that have been reached, ensuring practical benefits for localities and industrial parks.

With the theme "Promoting Industrial Park Investment in the New Era," the Industrial Park Forum 2025 (IP Forum 2025) has set a target to increase the total number of industrial parks nationwide to 600 by 2030, with an additional planned area of 35,000 hectares, reaching 181,000 hectares.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/kien-tao-khong-gian-phat-trien-moi-he-sinh-thai-cong-nghiep-viet-nam-434424.html