Hai Phong city okays projects of $1 bln from Asian firms

Vietnam’s northern city of Hai Phong granted investment certificates to 11 foreign and domestic direct investment projects with total registered capital of $961 million and two social housing projects worth $400 million on Friday, or $1.36 billion in total.

The biggest one is a $500-million project invested by South Korea’s SK Group. The high-tech biodegradable material factory, called Ecovance, will cover 3.2 hectares in Deep C Hai Phong Industrial Park, within Dinh Vu-Cat Hai Economic Zone.

The first phase is set to begin in December 2023 and be completed in nine months. Its first phase output will be 35,000 tons of PBAT, PBS, and PBATS a year, while the second phase is forecast at 70,000 tons.

Speaking at the ceremony, Le Tien Chau, chief of Hai Phong's Party Committee, called on SK to further invest in the city, especially in human resources training and high-tech industries, such as electronic components, energy, and eco-friendly new materials.

The second biggest FDI project is Japan's Kyocera Document Solutions Inc. investing a further $237.5 million in its machine and equipment factory in VSIP Hai Phong Industrial Park, rasing the total investment to $425 million. The Japanese firm's initial investment of $180 million was made in 2012.

The municipal authorities also granted investment certificates to other FDI projects, including a $61 million ready-built factory (RBF) by local developer BW; a $40 million automobile component production plant by China's CCTY Bearing Company; a $30 million valve and pipe production project by China's Ningbo Huaping Intelligent Control Technology; a $20 million Li-ion and Ni-MH battery project by Singapore's Highpower Technology; and a $19.5 million SPC floor plant by China's Yibin Tianyi New Material Technology.

The remaining are a $15.2 million warehouse and storage expansion project by Japan-invested Soft Industry Corporation; a $15 million automobile component and accessory plant by Hong Kong-invested Daimay Investment; a $12.8-million storage and tank project by Thailand-invested Top Solvent (Vietnam) LLC; and a $10 million optical item plant by Singapore's Goodwe.

Hai Phong also approved the selection of investors for two social housing projects, including a $142 million project in Dong Hai 2 ward covering 22.5 hectares, and a $254 million project in Trang Cat ward covering 28.1 hectares. Both projects in Dinh Vu-Cat Hai Economic Zone are expected to include 8,000 houses for 22,000 residents, contributing to the country's target of building one million social housing units from 2021-2030.

So far, Hai Phong city has attracted over 1,000 FDI projects with total registered capital of $28 billion, out of $38.1 billion from both foreign and domestic projects in economic zones and industrial parks. In the first eight months of this year, the city attracted 45 FDI projects with total registered capital of $2.1 billion.