VietNamNet Bridge – Among 878 small-scale industrial zones nationwide, there have been 412 zones which are slow-moving or deliver low investment efficiency due to capital shortage, site clearance problems and few tenants.

llustrative image. (Photo: Internet)

According to a report of the Ministry of Industry and Trade sent to the Prime Minister, Vietnam currently has 614 such small IPs in operation which have attracted 7,312 projects with total registered capital of over VND112 trillion and created around 460,000 jobs.

However, with a total area of 16,166 hectares of these operational zones, the average occupancy rate is only around 50%.

Besides, some problems have arisen in developing such industrial zones over the past time. Specifically, the allocated land is not utilized, enterprises do not fulfill their environmental protection commitments or pay land rent as required.

According to the industrial zone development planning of provinces, Vietnam will have 1,752 small-scale industrial zones with a total area of around 81,800 hectares in 2020. Each industrial zone will cover an average of 46.7 hectares.

These small IPs, covering tens of hectares each, are often referred to as industrial clusters with lower standards on technology or environment protection, unlike full-scale IPs measuring hundreds of hectares each.

To make these small IPs operate efficiently in the coming time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed the Prime Minister to allocate an additional VND1.2 trillion for provinces in the 2013-2015 period, with a maximum support of VND20 billion per zone.

Regarding the incentive investment mechanism, the ministry has also suggested that projects of developing facilities for such zones be given preferential loans and tax reduction and exemption as well as preferential export tax for investment projects.

In related news, the Planning and Construction Institute on Wednesday reported the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade the draft development planning for small-scale industrial zones in the city until 2020.

Under the draft planning, HCMC will have 19 such zones with 1,228 hectares in 2020 compared to the current total area of 1,900 hectares of 30 zones approved in 2004.

Other zones will be upgraded into full-scale industrial parks, but operations of enterprises in such zones will be unchanged.

According to the institute, with an average investment of around US$280 per square meter of industrial zones, HCMC will need a total investment cost of nearly VND7.620 trillion to fully develop facilities for these 19 small IPs until 2020.

Source: SGT