The northern port city of Hai Phong has expanded the industrial area of its Dinh Vu-Cat Hai Economic Zone by 300 hectares under a new adjustment to the EZ’s plan.
Authorities said the adjustment aimed to match the EZ’s development with the latest master development plan for Hai Phong city until 2040, with vision until 2050 that has been approved by the Prime Minister.
Per the updated plan, the EZ will cut 65 hectares of its public utility service area, 200 hectares of alluvial water surface and 70 hectares of port area in expanding the area for industrial development and warehousing by 300 hectares, traffic infrastructure by 33 hectares, and military purposes by two hectares.
Besides, Hai Phong has added some infrastructure developments to the plan, including a railway line to connect with the Lach Huyen seaport and major roads to link to the city’s maritime gateways.
The new plan relocates the non-tariff zone from Nam Dinh Vu zone to the Cat Hai zone, which will be located next to the to-be-built Xuan Cau non-tariff zone and industrial park. The new location will enable strong linkages to the port and railway system of Lach Huyen port, facilitate export-import activities and build-up of the non-tariff zone.
The non-tariff zone has been adjusted to comprise 350 hectares of warehouse development, 33 hectares of trees, 15 hectares of public utility services, five hectares of military area, and 45 hectares of traffic infrastructure.
The technical infrastructure, including traffic facilities, wires and pipelines, has also been adjusted accordingly. Since the residential area cannot be relocated instantly, it will be renovated in the initial phase to avoid any negative impact related to the construction of industrial facilities.
The plan for the Nam Dinh Vu zone (not including the non-tariff zone) has been adjusted to include 320 hectares of trees while reducing the area for services, public utility service, traffic and defense-security by 70 hectares. Overall, the Nam Dinh Vu zone will have 1,200 hectares for industrial development, 320 hectares for trees, 20 hectares for public utility services, 70 hectares for port, two hectares for military purposes, and 275 hectares for infrastructure and traffic facility.
The Cat Hai zone has its industrial land and tree planting area cut by 10 and 40 hectares, respectively, in order to increase the port area by 19 hectares, service area by five hectares and traffic infrastructure area by 26 hectares. Overall, the Cat Hai zone will have 365 hectares for industrial development and warehouses, 60 hectares for trees, five hectares for public utility services, 20 hectares for ports, and 115 hectares for infrastructure and traffic facilities.
The municipal Department of Construction and the Hai Phong Economic Zone Authority (HEZA) has been assigned the responsibility to ensure integrity of EZ planning details so that there are no conflicts during implementation.
The Dinh Vu-Cat Hai EZ, established in 2008, was set to cover 22,540 hectares in the five districts of Thuy Nguyen, Cat Hai, An Duong, An Lao, and Hai An per a 2021 planning adjustment.
Hai Phong's index of industrial production (IIP) grew 10.59% year-on-year in the first seven months of this year, far outperforming the country's IIP growth of negative 0.7% in the period, according to municipal data.
The city’s performance was driven by a year-on-year growth of 11.01% in the manufacturing-processing sector, 9.07% in water supply and waste-wastewater treatment, 19.28% in mining, and 2.29% in electricity production and distribution. Some sub-sectors that recorded strong growth included computers and components with a 68.95% increase; shipbuilding, up 92.82%; and electric appliances, up 74.87%.
As of July 20, Hai Phong had attracted a total of 883 FDI projects with a registered capital of $26.2 billion. For this year until July 20, the figure was $2.03 billion.