Developing smart, green industrial zones

(BP Portal) - After 25 years of the provincial reconstruction, Binh Duong and Binh Phuoc have made significant industrial development marks with the formation of industrial zones in the industrial direction associated with cities and services.

Success from industrial zones helped to make a breakthrough in attracting investment, creating more jobs, spurring a shift in economic structure and incentives for new development in the area.
 
Breakthrough attracted investment from industrial zone development
 
Binh Phuoc has grown from an agricultural province with an industrial share of 42.3%. In 2021, the province's economic growth reached 6.32%, the highest in the Southeast and 20th in the country. Binh Phuoc's industry grew to a high of 20.63% and the industrial production index increased 17.8%, GRDP per capita increased by 74.9 million VND per capita per annum, an increase of 26 times after 25 years of re-establishment of the province. By 2021, the province had 63 foreign investment projects (FDI) with capital of US $514 million, 88.5 percent increase in projects, three times the capital amount in 2020 and 120 domestic investment projects with a total of VND12,000 billion.

  Minh Hung - Sikico industrial park of Binh Phuoc Province
 

According to Mrs.Tran Tue Hien, the chairman of Binh Phuoc provincial Peoples' Committee, large scale investment in the deployment of the industrial zone has contributed to changing the economic structure, addressing labour-intensive employment, and raising the budget actively. The province has 13 industrial parks covering a total area of 4,686ha, of which 11 have been fully invested and operational. Through industrial parks, the province has received the attention of many domestic and foreign investors. Typically the Becamex-Binh Phuoc Industry Area (Chon Thanh District) has after four years' development attracted 49 projects with a total investment capital of more than $1 billion and has directly contributed to the budget of more than VND1,700 billion and assisted with employment of more than 6,000 workers.

The Binh Duong province, after 25 years of development, has become a dynamic locality, a thriving economy and industry, attracting domestic and foreign investment. The province's 29 industrial zones with a total area of more than 12,660ha have been invested in the construction of modern, uniform infrastructure. Binh Duong's good approach soon developed the transportation system, built up the infrastructure of industrial zones associated with urbanization, gave industry a boom, and set the stage for commerce and services to develop. The industrial zones of the province attracted 2,342 FDI projects with a total registered capital of USD $26 billion, and 672 domestic investment projects with total registered capital of US $86,810 billion. In 2022, the provincial Industrial zones Management Board set a goal of attracting approximately $1.3 billion in FDI capital.

As the main investment unit of the major industrial areas of Binh Duong and Binh Phuoc, Mr. Pham Ngoc Thuan- the General director of the Corporation for Investment and Development of Trade and Industry IDC, says: "The core value of Becamex IDC in coordinating with localities in the development of the industrial parks is to be attached to the urban areas, trade, services, resettlement areas, social housing and surrounding areas in order to meet the demand of people. It is a comprehensive ecosystem development model for the development of industrial zones, making differences and creating the best value-added for investors and people in the area.

Smart, green industrial zone
 
During the development of industrial areas, Binh Duong and Binh Phuoc together with the aggressive development and coordination of IDC - have soon directed the construction of sustainable development industrial parks under the '3 in 1 model.' It is an industrial zone with urban areas and services that contributes to improving the lives of the people, not just roads, buildings and factories. Localities are looking to attract investment in depth, build smart and green industrial zones for sustainability.
 
Recently, in the Becamex-Binh Phuoc Industrial Zone, the plant of Hayat Kimya Viet Nam with capital investment of US $250 million was officially opened with design standards to reduce environmental impact, water savings and materials savings at zero emissions. It is also invested in a 5.3MWP Solar system to make the most of the operating capacity of the production line and conserve power under a commitment to sustainable development requirements.
In addition, on Binh Duong, the Vietnam-Singapore III Industrial Zone (VSIP III) was officially constructed on a scale of 1,000 hectares. VSIP III is set to become the country's first intelligent blue industrial zone with renewable green energy, replacing the grid with solar power, the wastewater following the reused green standard, creating green space. The industrial park is also designed to integrate smart technology in its operations, traffic management, and security. In particular, the industrial park spends 50ha as a solar farm.

Mr.Kelvin Teo, executive director of The SembCorp Development Group (Singapore), co-chairman of the VSIP Group, said: "The VSIP III industrial Zone marks a major shift in sustainable Development strategy that will contribute to the FDI inflow of Binh Duong and will help Industrial Zone VSIP III become one of the most green and sustainable working environments in Vietnam."

In the new development phase, Binh Duong and Binh Phuoc identified, to accommodate a large investor, industrial zones would need to be upgraded to a new standard, which is industrial development associated with science and technology development and creative innovation. Currently the Binh Duong People's Committee and Becamex IDC are focusing on the development of an industrial park for science and Technology in Bau Bang District, which is the central project of the creative innovation area project to attract large corporations and enterprises. In the course of consultations on strategic planning for the 2021-2030 period with a view to 2050, experts and scientists have suggested that Binh Duong Province be concerned with the selective transformation of industrial zones supporting high technology, ecological industry zones, always prioritising environmental protection as a priority, building Binh Duong images as one of the areas worth living for.

"The dominant advantage of the province is transportation infrastructure, interregional industrial zones, which meet the production and business requirements of domestic and foreign enterprises," said Mai Hung Dung, vice president of the Binh Duong People's Committee. The province consistently aims to attract new, selective projects, give priority to the powerful partners, a large economic group with high technology, high value added, environmentally friendly sectors and new, modern industrial parks."