HCM CITY – Tiền Phong Industrial Zone JSC and Russia’s Seaport of Azov on Friday agreed to transform 100 hectares in Quảng Ninh Province into a hub for industrial manufacturing and port operations.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed by Tiền Phong Industrial Zone JSC, in which Deep C consortium (Rent A Port) is a majority shareholder, and the Russian giant in port development and operations, agrees to start work on the Việt Nam-Russia Industrial Complex soon, provided the Vietnamese Government offers its support in speeding up the process.

The MoU was signed in HCM City on the sideline of the 20th Session of the Việt Nam-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trading-Commerce and Science-Technology Co-operation, which saw the participation of around 150 Vietnamese and Russian businesses.

The 100-hectare plot, earmarked for the complex, is located in the northern province’s South Tiền Phong area, along Chanh River.

The two partners started investing in Quảng Ninh in 2016 and own a 50-50 share in one of the major liquid jetties in north Việt Nam. The investors now intend to equip the industrial complex with a second liquid jetty and a general cargo port. They hope to work together with local Quảng Ninh authorities to connect the new industrial zone with a deep seaport.

The signing marked a milestone in co-operation ties between the two parties.

“This will be a great opportunity to show the Seaport of Azov’s commitment to investing in Việt Nam. The ultimate aim of this strategic cooperation framework is to draw Russian companies to invest and expand business in Việt Nam in general, and in northern regions such as Quảng Ninh in particular,” said Andrian Sinebok, a chairman of board, Seaport of Azov, speaking at the signing ceremony.

The strategic location of the complex, between deep waters and shallow river, will allow all tenants of the complex to distribute their products via inland waterway, which will reduce the number of trucks on the roads.

Rent A Port and Seaport of Azov’s MoU comes at a time when Russian investment in Việt Nam has slowed down. Statistics show that by the end of August, Russian businesses had registered to invest around US$1.026 billion in 114 valid projects in Việt Nam.

The MoU is also a positive response to the partnership agreement signed between Việt Nam’s President Trần Đại Quang and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in the end of June, under which they have agreed to invest around $10 billion in both countries.

The Việt Nam-Russia Industrial Complex signals a new wave of Russian investments into Việt Nam.

The project would be logical continuation between Deep C consortium and Seaport of Azov in the Euro Jetty JSC, whose first investment was the successful liquid jetty in Đình Vũ Industrial Zone, which has 20 members, including America’s Chevron and several Japanese clients.

The inking of the MOU represents the strong relationship of more than 20 years between Rent A Port and Seaport of Azov. — VNS