The southern economic zone of Ho Chi Minh City is expected to cover 3,500 hectares of District 7, 10,000 hectares in Nha Be district, over 3,000 hectares in Binh Chanh district, and more than 9,000 hectares in Can Gio district.

The 300ha Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone and the 1,354ha Hiep Phuoc Port Urban Area will be the zone's core,  with seaports, international border gates and logistics centers. 

As the city is accelerating construction of infrastructure in the South with Ring Road 3 and Ring Road 4, the establishment of an economic zone has a solid foundation. 

According to the board for the Industrial and Export Processing Zones of Ho Chi Minh City (Hepza), many infrastructure projects for industrial parks and other technical infrastructure in the south have been completed or planned. 

Among these are the Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone (District 7), Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park, Hiep Phuoc Port Urban Area (Nha Be District), and Phong Phu Industrial Park (Binh Chanh District).

Inter-regional transport projects have been completed to connect traffic from the Mekong Delta to the Southeast region, such as the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway, which will be completed in 2023. 

In particular, the Ring Road 3 project is under investment preparation and Ring Road 4 is under construction. 

There is also a national railway connecting the ​​Hiep Phuoc port urban area with the Southeast region and the Mekong Delta.

For waterway traffic, Ho Chi Minh City has Soai Rap for ships with a tonnage of 50,000 tons to enter Hiep Phuoc port, which is combined with a system of rivers and canals in the area of ​​Nha Be district, to enable transport of goods from Hiep Phuoc port to the Mekong Delta.

In addition, this area also has modern urban areas such as the Southern Urban Area of ​​Ho Chi Minh City (more than 2,900 hectares) with a system of roads connecting to inner-city districts and Nguyen Van Linh Boulevard. In Can Gio district, the Can Gio encroachment urban area and the Go Da deep-water international seaport are planned.

According to Hepza, the establishment of a large economic zone will benefit investors and the locality where the economic zone is located. 

For investors, they will enjoy tax incentives such as a 4-year tax exemption and 50% reduction of taxes for the next nine years for income from new investment projects.

According to many experts, the establishment of a large economic zone in Ho Chi Minh City is needed to welcome investors.

Mr. Hua Quoc Hung, head of Hepza, said that some investors wanted to rent a few dozen hectares of land to build factories, but the city did not have land for them. 

When there is a large economic zone with sufficient infrastructure, the city will attract large investors.

Mai Lan