Sembcorp's VSIP III Binh Duong to be Vietnam's first zero-emissions industrial park

Singapore's Sembcorp Industries plans to build the third Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park III (VSIP III) in the southern province of Binh Duong as a zero-emissions industrial park, the first of its kind in the country.

CEO Kelvin Teo of Sembcorp Industries, the foreign partner in the VSIP joint venture, confirmed the information while meeting with Binh Duong Chairman Vo Van Minh on Thursday.

He added that with the goal of sustainable, smart and green development, VSIPs are moving towards higher goals.

In reply, Minh lauded the growth of Sembcorp in Vietnam, with 12 VSIPs across the country, and urged the Singaporean developer to continue cooperating with Binh Duong towards sustainable development.

With a total investment of $280 million, the 1,000 hectare IP will be located in Bac Tan Uyen district, about an hour’s drive from Ho Chi Minh City.

A road leading to VSIP III is being expanded to six lanes to facilitate FDI inflow.

Under a loan agreement BIDV signed with VSIP Co. Ltd. on August 22, the Vietnamese bank, one of Vietnam’s “Big 4” commercial banks, would loan about $200 million for constructing VSIP III .

VSIP’s 12 industrial parks in Vietnam 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.

Sembcorp Industries received an investment license on October 17 to develop an 293.7-hectare IP in Can Tho city, its first in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. A VSIP could also take shape in the central province of Ha Tinh next year.

Lego factory in VSIP 3

Also on Thursday, Chairman Vo Van Minh had a meeting with Preben Elnef, general manager of Lego Manufacturing Vietnam and vice president of Lego Group, to discuss the progress of a Lego factory in VSIP III.

Preben Elnef urged Binh Duong province to speed up land-related procedures and complete a 110 kV electricity grid connection in order to put the factory into operation in June 2024.

In reply, Minh vowed to push relevant authorities to solve remaining issues to speed up the $1-billion toy-making project.

The Danish toymaker started construction of its Binh Duong factory, also its first carbon-neutral factory site worldwide, on November 3, 2022. Danish Crown Prince Frederik joined the groundbreaking ceremony together with then Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh to mark the largest investment in Vietnam to date made by a Danish company.

The new factory will feature solar panels on its roof and the VSIP will build a solar project nearby on behalf of Lego. Together, they will produce enough renewable energy to match 100% of the factory’s annual requirements.

VSIP Co. is a joint venture between Singapore’s energy and urban developer Sembcorp Industries and Binh Duong-based major industrial property and urban developer Becamex.