Northern Vietnam provinces eye VSIP industrial parks

Thai Binh and Nam Dinh seek to have Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) built in the northern provinces, local leaders told a Friday conference.

The conference focused on experiences of Binh Duong province on industrial development. The southern province is home to the first VSIP in Vietnam. In addition to Binh Duong, the event saw the participation of leaders from nine provinces including Tay Ninh, Binh Thuan, Binh Phuoc, Khanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Thua Thien-Hue, Thai Binh, and Nam Dinh.

Nguyen Khac Than, Chairman of Thai Binh province, said the provincial planning features over 30,000 hectares within its coastal economic zone for establishment of an industrial park. He added Thai Binh is willing to allocate prime land lots within the economic zone for VSIP construction.

Pham Dinh Nghi, Chairman of neighboring Nam Dinh province, urged Binh Duong province and the VSIP joint venture to aid Nam Dinh in building a 1,000-hectare VSIP.

Appointed by the governments of Singapore and Vietnam to operate the VSIP since 1996, VSIP Group - a joint venture between Sembcorp Development and Becamex IDC - has expanded to 12 developments to date.

The IPs are located in Bac Ninh, Hai Phong and Hai Duong in the north; Nghe An, Quang Tri and Quang Ngai in the central region; and Binh Duong and Can Tho in the south.

In February, Singapore's Sembcorp announced new collaborations in sustainable urban development in Vietnam by building five more VSIPs. The five new VSIPs are envisioned to be smart and sustainable industrial parks with low carbon footprints. They will feature decarbonization solutions like rooftop solar systems, solar farms (where feasible), and green-certified buildings.

During the Singapore visit of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, on February 10, the Vietnamese government presented Sembcorp and Becamex with an investment license to develop the 500-hectare VSIP II in Nghe An province. The license is an expansion of the successful 750-hectare VSIP Nghe An I established in 2015.

Last October, Sembcorp received an investment license to develop a 293.7-hectare industrial park in Can Tho city, its first in Vietnam's Mekong Delta.

In January, Sembcorp announced it would build the third VSIP in Binh Duong province as a zero-emissions industrial park, the first of its kind in the country.

VSIP is fulfilling procedures to deploy an industrial park project in the central province of Ha Tinh.