Trần Đắc Trung, deputy director of the Láng Hòa Lạc High Tech Park, speaks to the Hà Nội Mới newspaper on the park’s plan to become a tech hub in Việt Nam.

What is the current status of the Láng Hòa Lạc High Tech Park?

The Láng Hòa Lạc High Tech Park has attracted 94 projects with total registered capital of VNĐ89.3 billion (US$3.9 million), of which 52 projects are already in operation.

Among these projects, many of them belong to high ranking economic groups from Vietnamese and abroad, including the Japanese Nidec and Nissan Techno economic groups, the Việt Nam-South Korean Science and Technology Institute, the Viettel Corporation, Vietnamese Post and Telecommunications (VNPT), Vingroup, FPT and others.

The Láng Hòa Lạc High Tech Park is now the home to some 9,000 students and 13,000 workers who are learning and working there. In addition, the park has also an R&D network specialised in the fields of information technology; telecommunication software; bio-technology; auto technology and others. In addition, high-tech equipment and spare parts are also manufactured there.

Last but not least, right now a start-up ecology is being established in the Láng Hòa Lạc High Tech Park. Hopefully, in the near future, the park will become a venue attracting resources needed to create a national park.

How will the Láng Hòa Lạc High Tech Park attract big investment?

The two most important criteria for any project to be established in the park – it must be in the field of high tech and its products are high tech. The requirements are already stated in the Vietnamese law. In the course of selecting investors, the park owner has come up with a rule “3 high’s: high in technology; high in investment capital and high in added value” and “3 low’s: low in environmental impact; low in the requirement of the labour force and low in energy consumption and raw materials”.

What has been achieved in the Láng Hòa Lạc High Tech Park is worthy of note, yet it has not yet met the set objectives. Why?

There are various reasons. A leading reason is that its infrastructure has not yet been completed. This has somehow affected the attraction of high-quality human resources to come and work in the park. Another factor which is also very important is the slow process of land clearance.

Right now, the Láng Hòa Lạc High Tech Park is in the process of selecting the most suitable projects to invest in the park, like universities; research projects and businesses whose financial support comes from the Government.

One of the key objectives of the Láng Hòa Lạc High Tech Park is to formulate new high-tech to contribute to national socio-economic development and to provide high tech skilled workers to the labour market.

What should we do to make the Láng Hòa Lạc High Tech Park a good nursery for high tech in Việt Nam?

The park will have to have the latest high-tech infrastructure meeting demands from the investors while expanding co-operation with other universities, research institutes and enterprises from inside and outside Việt Nam.

One of the key missions is that the Láng Hòa Lạc High Tech Park will become a venue for science and technology activities through organising more training courses and research activities. In addition, the park will further complete its utility services to meet requirements from its clients. VNS