Japan’s Sojitz to develop new industrial park in southern Vietnam

Japan’s multi-sector business Sojitz Corporation and Vietnamese real estate developer Long Thanh Golf Investment and Trading JSC have announced plans to jointly build Long Duc 3 Industrial Park in Vietnam’s southern province of Dong Nai.

In a Wednesday announcement, the Japanese business said Long Duc 3 Industrial Park is a key project for the province and has full support from local authorities.

Sojitz has been involved in the development and operation of Long Duc Industrial Park since 2011. All available lots at the facility were sold out in 2019 and 70 companies now occupy the facilities, including 59 Japanese firms.

Long Duc 3 Industrial Park is located close to Long Duc Industrial Park and is easily accessible by car, about 35 kilometers from dowtown Ho Chi Minh City. It offers convenient logistics access to southern ports as an optimal location for companies seeking to expand their business to Vietnam, Sojitz said. Sojitz will develop Long Duc 3 Industrial Park as a next-generation industrial park that contributes to the realization of a decarbonized society, the Japanese firm noted.

Located in Long Thanh district, the industrial park is set to cover 244.5 hectares with an investment of VND1,800 billion ($74.1 million), according to a prime ministerial decision signed in July. Investors must conduct the project in no more than 36 months since the date of land delivery, per the decision.

Dong Nai province got an early start to the process of attracting manufacturers to the region and developed a manufacturing center to ensure firms can easily expand their operations to Vietnam. Additionally, the province will be highly accessible via the under-construction Long Thanh International Airport and is garnering attention as a new manufacturing hub due to its various modes of transportation and road infrastructure, Sojitz highlighted.

In Vietnam, there is an ever-increasing need to expand the manufacturing industry to both grow export processing and respond to anticipated growth of the domestic consumer market against the backdrop of the China Plus One strategy and restructuring of corporate supply chains, among other significant changes in the manufacturing industry concurrent with growing demand, Sojitz emphasized.

Sojitz has 17 joint ventures in Vietnam, including one with Vinamilk, the country's largest dairy producer. This partnership started construction of a $500-million complex in Vinh Phuc province bordering Hanoi in March 2023 to raise cows and supply beef to northern Vietnam.

Dong Nai attracted FDI of $1.29 billion in the first 10 months of this year, the eighth-highest figure among all localities in Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

As of October 20, the province had attracted FDI of $36.43 billion in 1,884 valid projects, the fourth-highest figure in Vietnam, only behind Ho Chi Minh City, neighboring Binh Duong province, and Hanoi. On average, in January-October, the FDI value of these projects was $6 million per hectare while employment reached 111 workers per hectare.