Southern Vietnam's incomplete VSIP Can Tho Industrial Park attracts $300 mln in FDI

VSIP Can Tho Industrial Park, located in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, has attracted four tenants, with total registered investment capital of $300 million, despite it still being under construction.

Among the four tenants is Bestway which registered to invest up to $200 million in the IP, according to Lawrence Chan, senior management of Singapore’s Sembcorp Group and head of the VSIP system in Vietnam.

The other three are completing legal procedures, with a combined registered investment of about $100 million, he told a working session with Chairman of the city People’s Committee Truong Canh Tuyen on Tuesday.

According to Lawrence Chan, the IP developer - VSIP Can Tho JSC, a subsidiary of Sembcorp Group, is speeding up infrastructure construction and investment promotion with a view to strongly attracting FDI flows.

The VSIP Can Tho project was approved by the Prime Minister on October 17, 2022. The 294-hectare project has a total investment of about VND3.72 trillion (nearly $160 million).

At the working session, Lawrence Chan raised some proposals regarding legal and infrastructure support. He suggested switching to an annual land lease payment method to shorten the time for issuing land use right certificates, thereby facilitating investors to build factories sooner.

He also proposed that the people's committee accelerate land procedures, especially for the planned groundbreaking of the Bestway project on August 1, 2025. This will be the first FDI project in the city in 2025.

In response, Tuyen said he highly appreciates the proposals from Sembcorp, adding that the city has directed related agencies to quickly conduct land valuations and issue land use right certificates for VSIP, creating favorable conditions for the developer to complete necessary procedures soon. “This is identified as a key task in the locality’s FDI attraction strategy.”

Highlighting challenges during the project implementation, the city's standing Vice Chairman Duong Tan Hien pointed out the shortage of construction sand due to competition for materials with major infrastructure projects like the under-construction North-South Expressway.

However, he noted that the upcoming merger of Can Tho with Soc Trang and Hau Giang provinces will bring great advantages in terms of material sources, as Soc Trang has abundant sand reserves.

The local government is moving toward using sea sand and applying dredging technology to level the ground for VSIP, Hien added.

Regarding infrastructure, he said the city has basically completed the adjustments of detailed plans for subdivisions and built a road leading to the IP. It has assigned Vinh Thanh district to urgently carry out two resettlement areas serving the project.

Established in 1996 as a joint venture between Binh Duong-based Becamex IDC (BCM) and a Singapore investor alliance led by Sembcorp Group with the first project in Binh Duong, VSIP now owns 20 IPs across 14 provinces and cities in Vietnam.

VSIP IPs have attracted about $15 billion in FDI from 30 countries and territories, creating 250,000 jobs.

In the latest move, VSIP Nam Dinh Co., Ltd. announced a plan to start construction of Hai Long Industrial Park (VSIP Nam Dinh) - Phase 1 from Q3 or Q4 of 2025 in Nam Dinh province.

Ha Nam, Nam Dinh and Ninh Binh provinces will merge this year to form Ninh Binh province, which borders Hung Yen, Phu Tho, Thanh Hoa, Hanoi, and the East Sea.