Central hub revs up new development

Participants join a panel session at Meet Đà Nẵng 2024. The event offered connection opportunities for businesses and partners in co-operation and investment in Đà Nẵng. VNS Photo Công Thành

ĐÀ NẴNG — The central city’s people’s committee officially signed a series of key Memorandums of Understandings (MoUs) with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for comprehensive and sustainable development in the Master Plan 2021-30, vision 2050, at the Meet Đà Nẵng 2024, opening a new development period for the city after decades of successful growth.

Also at the event on January 26, Đà Nẵng’s Semiconductor and AI Centre (DSAC), in co-operation with two semiconductor businesses from the US – Synopsys and Intel – inked MoUs on human resources training for semiconductor, chip design and Artificial Intelligence (AI), and implementing the Intel AI for the future workforce programme in the city.

A Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony between Đà Nẵng and the United States Agency for International Development. Đà Nẵng inked five MoUs at Meet Đà Nẵng on January 26. VNS Photo Công Thành

An investment licence was granted to South Korean KP Aero Industries for construction of an aircraft industry factory at Đà Nẵng Hi-Tech Park – the second investment project in aviation and aerospace technologies after Đà Nẵng Sunshine Aerospace under the Universal Alloy Corporation from the US, put into operation in 2020 – making it a destination for hi-tech investors and partners in the coming years.

KP Aero Industries project plans to supply aft body, APU door, MIC wing tip, raked wing tip, wing box, winglet, flap fairing support and aircraft metal fabrication facilities for Boeing 737, 787 and Boeing 737 Max aircraft in two phases in 2024-29.

The United States Mission to Việt Nam and Đà Nẵng currently partner on a number of shared development priorities, including clean energy, pollution reduction, higher education and assisting people with disabilities.

Under the MoU signed today, USAID and the city intend to expand their development cooperation to promote innovative solutions in economic growth; clean energy and energy efficiency, environmental protection and climate change response; health; and human resource development. 

These efforts will support the central beach hub’s own goals for human resource development and green economic growth, and represent greater cooperation of the United States in assisting Việt Nam to achieve its future sustainable development goals in line with the US-Việt Nam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, announced in September 2023. 

A view of the international terminal of Đà Nẵng Airport. The city has invested heavily in sea port and airport to host new investment waves. Photo courtesy of AHT

Meanwhile, the ADB has provided assistance for Đà Nẵng in several projects, improving the land use index to better handle natural disasters and building a pre-feasibility study to relocate Đà Nẵng Station.

Vice minister of foreign affairs Nguyễn Minh Hằng highly appreciated the impressive growth of the brand value over the past years, stressing that the city has begun a new stage of dynamic development with a series of positive activities.

She said the Meet Đà Nẵng was a revving up for a new year with hope fresh development and growth.

French ambassador to Việt Nam, Olivier Brochet said France is a prime partner of Đà Nẵng in fields of education and training, a collaboration that has recently extended to scientific research and industrial applications.

“Under the umbrella of the ‘French Tech’ network, many others operate in Việt Nam in various fields including semiconductors, aeronautics, digital consulting and cybersecurity, and contribute daily to Việt Nam’s transition toward an increasingly demanding, sophisticated and innovative market,” he added.

He said French companies are Việt Nam’s main partners in the scientific field and many French tech companies are operating in the country.

He unveiled that Ubisoft, a world leader in video games (Assassin’s Creed), has chosen to set up a studio dedicated to the development of video games in Đà Nẵng.

He said in 2017, the University of Đà Nẵng and the University of Nice Côte d’Azur established the Đà Nẵng Institute of Technology, which trains engineers and researchers, and carries out collaborative research and innovation projects.

The partnership has extended to the industrial field with the creation of an incubation centre for start-ups developing solutions for smart cities, he said.

Japanese consul general Yakabe Yoshinori stressed the importance of high quality human resource education for the city’s future development.

Chairman of the city’s people’s committee, Lê Trung Chinh said the city has been preparing land area for investors, investing much in infrastructure projects such as airport and deep-sea port, road upgrading and building the strategy for semiconductor industry and AI.

Nguyễn Hoàng Minh, CEO of FPT IS, a member of FPT Group, said it has 7,000 engineers working in Đà Nẵng with an average growth of 30 to 40 per cent annually.

He said FPT plans to train 10,000 IT engineers in next five years to serve the semiconductor strategy of Đà Nẵng and the company’s global market expansion.

The Vietnamese ambassador to Luxembourg, Nguyễn Văn Thảo suggested that Đà Nẵng should connect with EU partners to achieve the target of establishing itself as an international finance centre as well as an attractive destination of hi-tech industries and hospitality.

He said the city has to create a long-term plan luring investors from EU with detailed and clear policies.

Đà Nẵng has an ambition of training 10,000 engineers serving the semiconductor industry by 2030, and the co-operation programmes with key semiconductors investors from the US, Taiwan, Japan and the EU have been scheduled from 2024.

The Việt Nam-Korea Friendship Information Technology University began training the first 500 semiconductor and chip design engineers in central Việt Nam in 2024-27.

Trịnh Thanh Lâm, marketing and business director of Synopsys, said Intel, Marvell Technology Group and Synopsys in the US, paid survey visits to the city in early 2024 seeking co-operation opportunities, and Đà Nẵng should be ready for hosting new investment moves.

Taiwan’s Foxlink International company had landed its electronics factory worth US$135 million at Đà Nẵng’s Hi-tech Park.

The University of Đà Nẵng and Portland State University agreed on a Letter of Intent (LoI) for the co-operation in training human resources for the semiconductor industry.

The central city has called Intel, Marvell Technology Group and Synopsys into the effort to build the city into a global semiconductor manufacturing centre.

Last December, Đà Nẵng granted investment licences to seven investment projects worth VNĐ9.3 trillion (US$372 million).

To date, the city has attracted 1,016 FDI projects worth US$4.2 billion. VNS