The Tân Thuận Export Processing Zone in HCM City. Industrial parks and processing zones in the city hope to attract investment worth US$500 million this year. — Photo courtesy of HEPZA

HCM CITY — The HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority said the city’s industrial parks and processing zones hope to attract investment worth US$500 million this year.

They attracted $600.79 million last year, well above the target, including foreign investment of $220.26 million, it said. 

Speaking at a meeting held to finalise plans for 2022 last week, Hứa Quốc Hưng, head of the authority (HEPZA), said to achieve the goal, HEPZA would continue to promote investment incentives, strengthen COVID-19 prevention efforts, enhance support for businesses to help them stabilise operations, and step up administrative reform.

Other key targets would include quickly starting the construction of the proposed 668 hectares Phạm Văn Hai Industrial Park, speeding up land clearance for building the Lê Minh Xuân 2 Industrial Park, expanding the Lê Minh Xuân IP, Northwest Củ Chi IP, Vĩnh Lộc  IP, and Hiệp Phước third phase, he said.  

“HEPZA also plans to develop new industrial park models and … develop criteria for attracting investment in export processing zones and industrial parks.”

It would strengthen investment promotion through foreign industry trade groups in Việt Nam and enhance the HEPZA image and brand by offering all possible support for businesses to help them overcome difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

It would also develop high-rise factories to improve land-use efficiency, monitor the implementation of land use by investment projects, and take back land from tardy projects.

With COVID-19 still lingering, HEPZA was continuing to cut or defer payment of factory/warehouse rents, land rents and infrastructure maintenance and service fees.

It planned to work with banks and authorities to help enterprises borrow, hire employees, build accommodation for employees, and resolve other difficulties.

In 2022 Hepza also planned to put more effort into administrative reforms and hopefully achieve an ‘excellent’ rating in the city’s public administrative reform (PAR) index.

To effectively carry out its tasks in 2022 and implement the "one-stop shop, on-site" mechanism, HEPZA had called on the city to strengthen decentralisation and devolve power to it to perform management tasks related to enterprises in export processing zones and industrial parks. — VNS