Ho Chi Minh City is trying to bring a breath of fresh air to local industrial parks (IPs) and export processing zones (EPZs) with a view to attracting more foreign investment.

Under a project to develop the IPs and EPZs during the 2023-2030 period with a vision to 2045, the southern economic hub will pilot the conversion of five EPZs namely Cat Lai, Tan Binh, Hiep Phuoc, Binh Chieu and Tan Thuan whose land lease contracts will expire in about 20 years into eco-industrial and high-tech zones.

It aims at gradually weeding out the industrial system of labour-intensive factories and those using outdated technologies, while luring projects with advanced technologies.

The city is now home to 17 IPs and two EPZs, spanning over a total area of more than 5,000 hectares. It hosts nearly 1,700 valid projects with total registered capital of 12.41 billion USD, 55% of which was injected by foreign firms.

Last year, the influx of foreign capital rose 12.47% year-on-year to 221.11 million USD, while domestic investment topped 18.5 trillion VND (788.5 million USD).

Boasting advantages in terms of geographic location, high-quality human resources and large market, Ho Chi Minh City has huge potential to attract more investment into its IPs and EPZs.

However, the city should work to remove bottlenecks in the granting of land use certificates and construction licences during the conversion process.

According to Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Business Association Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, although several firms at the Hiep Phuoc IP paid land lease fee for 50 years, they have not received land use right certificates yet and have not been able to request for construction licences to expand production.

Head of the HCM City Exporting Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA) Hua Quoc Hung said that the authority will give consultancy to investors, helping them seek opportunities to expand their projects.

Besides, the city will promote the “one-door” mechanism, ensuring that the authority could swiftly handle procedures in several areas including project examination and granting, adjustment and revoke of environmental licences.

VNA