Vietnam's industrial parks, EPZs need upgradation to attract FDI

Vietnam has established 335 industrial parks, of which 260 are operational with an occupancy rate of over 76 per cent, while 75 are under construction, according to the department of economic zones management. The country is also home to 17 economic zones.

These zones have thus far attracted over 9,780 foreign-invested projects with a total registered capital of $194.69 billion, and $109.79 billion of the sum has been disbursed.

At the same time, they also lured 1,387 domestically-funded projects worth over $1.46 trillion.

Dang Hung Vo, former deputy minister of natural resources and environment, said the majority of investment into Vietnam's industrial parks and economic zones mainly came from Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan instead of Europe and North America as there are still too few large-scaled industrial parks that would comprise mixed-use industrial-urban-service areas, Vietnamese media reported.

Many industrial parks had been planned with an empty ground or rudimentary factories and lacked the necessary connections and services for production. Further, experts said difficulties in access to investment information and matters surrounding human resources also gave investors headache.

Earlier this year, however, several industrial parks across the country received approval from Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to establish and expand.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)