Long An province banks on abundant industrial land to attract investment

The Mekong Delta province of Long An has developed 34 industrial parks and 44 industrial clusters spanning over 11,300 hectares to attract investment.

A representative of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment (DPI) said the province saw the development of industrial parks (IP) as an important driving force to promote growth.

Therefore, Long An got investors with financial resources and experience to build its IP infrastructure in a synchronous manner, the rep said, declining to be named.

Long An will urge IP infrastructure developers to speed up construction progress and create more industrial land funds, he said, adding it will offer special incentives for attracting large, capable and highly influential investors.

Under the provincial master plan for the 2021-2030 period, Long An will have 51 industrial parks with a total area of nearly 12,500 hectares.

Among its current 34 IPs, 26 are ready to receive investors with a total area of nearly 4,300 hectares, of which 2,800 hectares, or 66.30%, has been leased. In the other eight IPs, site clearance and infrastructure construction are happening on 2,500 hectares.

Six industrial parks have applied for investment policy approval from the Prime Minister and their applications are being evaluated by the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Local IPs and economic zones have so far attracted 1,846 projects – 903 FDI and 943 domestic investment ones – with respective registered capitals of nearly $6.3 billion and more than VND138.6 trillion ($5.64 billion), according to the provincial Department of Planning and Investment.

The province is expected to rank second nationwide in terms of industrial park area by 2030, said the Long An Economic Zone Authority (LAEZA).

On a working trip to South Korea, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People's Council Nguyen Van Duoc said Monday that with abundant industrial land, Long An always welcomed Korean businesses and investors in advanced technologies, electronic component manufacturing, software, logistics and high-tech agriculture.

South Korea currently has 207 investment projects worth over $960 million in Long An, accounting for 9% of the total FDI capital registered in the province, ranking second among foreign investors in total number of projects and third in registered capital.

The Korean side said they appreciated Long An’s potential and geographical location as well as the support and commitment from the provincial government.

Long An, the only gateway by road to Ho Chi Minh City and the southeastern provinces from the Mekong Delta, leads the southern region and ranks 10th in the country in FDI attraction.

The province’s Long An border gate economic zone, including the Binh Hiep international border gate and Long Khot sub-border gate on the border with Cambodia, are areas that with great development potential.

The province also boasts a 1 million plus young workforce with trained workers making up over 71%, and an open investment environment. It was one of the top 10 provinces and cities in the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) in 2022.