HCM CITY — HCM City called for investment in 116 socialised projects, 11 national-scale projects and six other projects in the Thủ Thiêm New Urban Area at an investment promotion conference on Wednesday.

Of the 116 projects, 64 are related to transport infrastructure, five to urban technical infrastructure, seven to flood reduction, three to agriculture, one to manufacturing, four to commerce and services, 21 to urban refurbishment and housing resettlement, six to education projects, one to health project, and four to culture and sports.

Of the 11 national projects, nine are related to transport infrastructure, one to education and training project and one to healthcare.

The six projects in the Thủ Thiêm New Urban area are related to hospitality, international standard primary schools and a theatre.

Huỳnh Văn Thụ of the city’s Department of Planning and Architecture said the city has around 500 degraded apartment towers that have to be renovated or rebuilt, and the city has come up with incentives to attract investors.

Trần Vĩnh Tuyến, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee, said to achieve economic growth of 8.5 per cent in 2016-20 period and modernise its economy, the city has called for investments in nine services: finance, banking, insurance; travel; transportation, ports and warehousing; post, telecom, information and communication; real estate; consultancy; science and technology; healthcare; and education and training, and four key industries -- mechanical; electronics - information technology; chemicals - plastic - rubber; food and foodstuff processing.

The city is also determined to implement seven breakthrough programmes set out under a Resolution of the city’s 10th Party Congress: a programme to improve the quality of growth, improve the competitiveness of the economy; human resource quality; administrative reform; reduction in traffic jams and accidents; reduction in flooding, programmes to cope with climate change, rising sea level; and reduction in pollution; and urban development, he said.

According to the Department of Planning and Architecture, the city will continue to relocate polluting industries out of the inner city and focus on the development of clean and modern industries that are based on technology.

Phạm Thiết Hòa, director of the Investment and Promotion Centre of HCM City, said the city contributes 21 per cent of the country’s GDP, one third of the budget and one fifth of exports, and accounts for half of all international visitors and 30 per cent of foreign projects in the country.

In the first eight months of this year the city attracted US$3.29 billion in new and existing projects, he said.

The city hopes that the investment promotion conference would enable Vietnamese and foreign investors to understand more about the city’s investment environment and policies and join hands with it to develop it into a smart city and a city good for living in, he said.

Calling for investment in these projects also seeks to quickly turn the city into one of the region’s largest economic, financial, commercial, scientific and technological hubs, he said.

According to delegates at the conference, being the centre of the southern economic region, the city could act as a gateway for investors seeking to do business in its neighbouring provinces and cities. — VNS