Restructuring industrial parks for sustainable development

​(News Portal – Dong Nai) - As one of the localities with the largest number of industrial parks in the country, Dong Nai province will continue to form and put new industrial parks into operation in the coming years. The new setting also poses new challenges requiring industrial parks to restructure and switch to new, more effective operating methods.

Attracting high-tech professions is a vital requirement of industrial parks 

Increasing land use efficiency, developing high-tech industrial parks in an ecological direction and attracting modern industries with advanced technology is what the province is aiming for.

The need to generate higher added value

Dong Nai was approved by the Prime Minister to establish 39 industrial parks by 2020, of which 31 industrial parks have been put into operation, 1 industrial park is under construction and 1 has just been established.

However, the remaining land bank for industrial parks in the area is too small. Therefore, the rapid establishment of new industrial parks according to planning is considered an important solution for Dong Nai province to maintain its position as one of the leading provinces in the country in attracting FDI and developing a sustainable industry.

Another issue is that according to the assessment in the Dong Nai planning project for the period 2021-2030, vision to 2050, when compared with the leading industrial provinces in the country, the added value of industry on the area of public land Dong Nai's industry is at a low level (18 billion VND/ha) compared to the average of industrial provinces (22 billion VND/ha). The leading industrial provinces in the country are divided into 3 groups according to the added value of industrial land area, of which Dong Nai is currently in group 3.

According to Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Hong Linh, what Dong Nai province needs to consider is efficiency in attracting projects. Projects that use a lot of land and a lot of labor but contribute little to sustainable development will not be suitable for Dong Nai's actual situation. It is necessary to select projects that can generate high added value on small land areas, this also affirms Dong Nai's priority and advantages in regional and national economic development.

Besides, according to infrastructure investors of existing industrial parks in Dong Nai, the problem of synchronous infrastructure connection in the area is still limited. Traffic connections outside and inside the industrial parks are not synchronized, affecting the transportation of goods. Not to mention, traffic jams and flooding at the gateways to the industrial parks are still recurring. Mr. Thai Hoang Nam, General Director of Amata City Long Thanh Joint Stock Company (investor of Long Thanh High-tech Industrial Park) shared that even though it is adjacent to the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway, but currently this industrial park cannot connect to the expressway, which will also affect the "perfection" of the unit in the eyes of investors.

Restructuring for sustainable development  

The restructuring in the current situation is not only true for individual businesses but also for industrial parks. The cities of Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi are also promoting the restructuring of export processing zones and industrial parks. Ho Chi Minh city has a separate project for this problem: it aims to increase the average investment attraction per hectare of land to 15 million USD by 2025 compared to 6,32 million USD in 2022.

On a national level, the development of environmentally friendly industrial parks is currently the direction. Vietnam has more than 400 industrial parks and is aiming to develop green industry and aim to achieve net emissions of 0% by 2050.

The eco-industrial park model will help Vietnam's industry develop circularly and sustainably. Accordingly, the Ministry of Planning and Investment is coordinating with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization to establish eco-industrial parks in Vietnam following the approach from the global eco-industrial park program. Dong Nai province is one of 5 provinces and cities chosen as an eco-industrial park model site with Amata Industrial Park (Bien Hoa City). The Ministry of Planning and Investment expects that after successfully building eco-industrial parks in Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong, the model will be replicated nationwide.

Meanwhile, Dong Nai province has a large area of industrial land, many manufacturing industries, however the value of goods production per land area is not high, and few FDI enterprises produce high-tech goods. Therefore, during the planning period until 2030, the province needs to focus on attracting FDI enterprises producing high-value goods to improve the efficiency of industrial land use, aiming for a model that attracts investors from group 2 provinces such as Thai Nguyen, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh.

According to Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thi Hoang, in the future, there will be adjustments in newly established industrial parks and infrastructure investments. Dong Nai's policy is to rapidly develop a number of leading industries and industrial products, information technology, new materials technology, and mold manufacturing technology. The province will also prioritize industries that require high technology, using skilled and highly qualified labor resources... Dong Nai will also gradually form supporting industrial parks, high-tech, ecological and high-tech industrial parks, as well as industry - urban – services connections... ​