New ventures underpinning Hai Duong’s prosperity

Dai An industrial park is one of the more attractive venues for foreign-invested manufacturers in Hai Duong province

According to the Hai Duong Industrial Zones Authority, industrial parks (IPs) in the province attracted about $261.8 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2022, up to 129 per cent over projections. It included nine new projects with a total registered capital of $27.7 million, and 26 that adjusted to increase capital to $234.1 million.

Additionally, there are 238 secondary foreign-invested projects with a total registered capital of about $4.83 billion. The average investment is about $17 million per venture. Such ventures come from 21 countries, regions, and territories around the world.

Many enterprises in IPs have continuously increased their capital and expanded production, especially those from South Korea and Japan. Hyundai Kefico Vietnam invested an additional $50 million, while Hitachi Cable Vietnam increased funding by $39 million, and LMS Vina added $30 million.

Currently, about 85 per cent of secondary projects in Hai Duong’s IPs are under construction or being put into production and business operations. The remainders are carrying out procedures to meet the conditions of building factories. The projects already in operation have created great industrial gross output, accelerating the province’s economic restructuring towards modernisation. Especially, foreign ventures in the IPs are expected to promote transferring advanced production tech and modern management skills.

Tran Anh Tuan, Head of the Hai Duong Industrial Zones Authority, said that FDI is one of the significant external factors to pave the way for the province’s economic development.

In 2022, Hai Duong proposed 10 key task groups to create a solid foundation for the development towards 2030. Notably, all groups are directly related or aim to create favourable conditions for continued attraction of FDI in the coming years in a more dynamic manner.

The prime minister has so far approved 21 IPs and three extension areas in Hai Duong. Currently, the province has 10 IPs and one extension of Dai An IP under construction or operating business, covering 1,470ha. In which, nine projects are implemented by domestic investors, one by overseas Vietnamese, and another by a joint venture between Singapore and Vietnam. The average funding in related infrastructure is about $282,600 per hectare.

IPs in Hai Duong see average occupancy rates of nearly 85 per cent of the handed-over industrial land, meanwhile, the remaining area is only about 140ha for lease.

In 2022, the province deployed six new IPs, including three extended ones. It plans site clearance and building technical infrastructure for Gia Loc, An Phat 1, and Kim Thanh IPs, as well as expansion for Tan Truong, Dai An, and Phuc Dien IPs, covering around 1,135ha.

For investment attraction to achieve better results in the coming time, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Trieu The Hung said that the province is urgently implementing the next steps of provincial planning for 2021-2030 with a vision for 2050, building priority criteria to attract projects in line with the province’s development orientation.

“In particular, the province will focus on developing specialised high-tech service and ecological IPs towards creating a key area in the Red River Delta to attract large projects and advance environmentally friendly technologies,” Hung said.

Besides that, the province also pays attention to researching the needs and trends of investors, especially strategic partners such as the US, Japan, South Korea, and European countries, thereby building policies, promotion programs, and communication channels to approach quality ventures.

“The maximum concentration of resources to fund, upgrade, and complete many key infrastructure initiatives will create motivation for socioeconomic development,” Hung said. “In accompanying businesses, we commit to strongly and substantively improve the business environment as well as prepare favourable conditions for infrastructure, housing, businesses, and high-quality services to meet the requirements.”

VIR