Project

Developing eco-industrial parks to attract FDI

Published

16 hours ago

March 17, 2025

By 2030, about 40-50% of provinces and cities are expected to convert traditional industrial parks into eco-industrial parks, and 8-10% of localities will have plans to build new eco-industrial parks to plan and attract investment industries gradually.

In reality, industrial parks that develop sustainably are becoming the selection criteria for foreign investors with economic benefits and responsibility to the social community. In that flow, industrial parks in Vietnam face a trend of comprehensive transformation to retain investors and attract new investment projects, especially high-tech and large-scale projects.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment has just coordinated with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) to sign a project document on replicating the eco-industrial park approach to promote circular economy in Vietnam.

The project aims to promote the implementation of circular economy in enterprises in industrial parks, reduce the environmental impact of industrial production, and adapt to climate change.

Director of the Department of Economic Zones Management under the Ministry of Planning and Investment Le Thanh Quan said that since 2015, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and UNIDO have piloted the conversion of several traditional industrial parks into eco-industrial park models in four localities: Hai Phong, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Dong Nai. In turn, 90 enterprises were supported with resource efficiency and cleaner production (RECP) solutions, and 429 out of 889 proposed solutions were implemented in Dinh Vu, Hoa Khanh, Hiep Phuoc, and Amata industrial parks.

RECP solutions helped enterprises reduce electricity consumption by 14,378 MWh/year, fossil fuel consumption by 264,127 GJ/year, water consumption by 278,690 m3/year, and greenhouse gas emissions by 55,663 tonnes of CO2 equivalent/year, bringing economic benefits to enterprises. Many industrial symbiosis and industrial-urban symbiosis solutions have been implemented, contributing to optimising waste reuse, concretising the implementation of circular economy, etc.

Currently, ecological industrial parks are becoming the selection criteria for foreign direct investment (FDI) with the goal of sustainable development, economic benefits and responsibility to the community and society. Many localities and industrial park infrastructure investors have identified that developing industrial parks according to a new model is an inevitable and urgent need to create sustainable competitive advantages.

Sharing at the recently held forum on comprehensive green solutions for industrial parks and investment promotion in Vinh Phuc Province, Chairman of Vinh Phuc Provincial People’s Committee Tran Duy Dong said that during the period of fluctuating global investment capital flows due to the COVID-19 pandemic, FDI capital in this locality was still higher than planned. From 2020 to now, Vinh Phuc has attracted an average of 500-600 million USD of FDI capital annually, the highest year reaching nearly 1 billion USD.

In just three years, from 2021 to 2023, Vinh Phuc’s investment attraction results exceeded the target set for the entire 2020-2025 term of 2 billion USD. This province also attracts high-quality investment flows from big brands such as Honda, Toyota, Piaggio and Daewoo.

According to the plan, by 2030, Vinh Phuc will have 28 industrial parks with an area of about 4,800 hectares, in which priority is given to developing new industrial parks along key traffic routes such as the Hanoi-Lao Cai Expressway, Ring Road 4, Ring Road 5, etc.

In which, orienting investment to develop industrial parks to achieve high efficiency and towards sustainable development is one of the top urgent requirements.

According to economic experts, to successfully replicate the approach of eco-industrial parks to promote circular economy in Vietnam, it is necessary to develop a specific roadmap and implementation plan, continue improving mechanisms and policies, create favourable conditions for this transformation process, propose solutions for practical values and develop criteria to identify and register eco-industrial parks and eco-enterprises certification.

Project

E-tax system resumes full operations after temporary suspension

Published

3 minutes ago

March 17, 2025

Industrialzone.net

The suspension, which lasted from 5pm on March 12 until 8am on March 17, was necessary to enhance tax management and implement structural changes.

E-tax system resumes full operations after temporary suspension

The tax authority has stated that all systems are now running smoothly, ensuring seamless tax transactions for individuals, businesses and foreign entities. (Photo: baodautu.vn)

Hanoi – Vietnam’s electronic tax system has resumed full operations starting at 8am on March 17, after a temporary suspension for system upgrades and data restructuring, the tax authority announced.

The suspension, which lasted from 5pm on March 12 until 8am on March 17, was necessary to enhance tax management and implement structural changes.

During this period, certain services such as electronic tax payment (eTax), eTax Mobile and tax applications for individuals were temporarily halted, while other functions remained accessible.

Foreign businesses operating in Vietnam can now fully access the e-portal for foreign suppliers, which remained operational but may have experienced minor delays in processing transactions during the upgrade.

Director of the Department of Taxation Mai Xuan Thanh instructed tax departments to ensure secure data migration and a smooth transition, allowing businesses and individuals to resume using the e-tax system without disruption.

Project

Central Vietnam province aims to add 2,300 MW of wind power to development plan

Published

1 hour ago

March 17, 2025

Industrialzone.net

Vietnam’s central province of Quang Tri plans to add 1,800 MW of 43 land-based wind power projects and 500 MW of offshore wind power to the draft implementation scheme of the national power development plan VIII (PDP VIII).

The draft scheme also features 260.5 MW of hydropower, 119.6 MW of solar power, and 23 MW of rooftop solar power for self-consumption, Quang Tri authorities discussed last week.

Quang Tri's acting Chairman Ha Sy Dong (standing) speaks at a meeting in the province, central Vietnam, March 14, 2025. Photo courtesy of Quang Tri newspaper. — Quang Tri’s acting Chairman Ha Sy Dong (standing) speaks at a meeting in the province, central Vietnam, March 14, 2025. Photo courtesy of Quang Tri newspaper.

Until 2030, Quang Tri aims to facilitate power import of 2,000 MW from Laos.

Provincial authorities will also facilitate investors of 500 kV, 200 kV, and 100 kV power grid projects, in line with the deployment of wind, solar, gas-fired power, and imported power (from Laos) projects.

Addressing the meeting, Quang Tri’s acting Chairman Ha Sy Dong asked the Department of Industry and Trade to collaborate with investors to complete the applications for in-principle approval by March 20.

He also requested the Department of Finance to finalize the land recovery plan for site clearance by March 25.

Vietnam’s current PDP VIII has 6,000 MW of offshore wind power, including 500 MW in the central-central region.

In February 2025, Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade proposed delaying the development of offshore wind power until after 2030, instead of meeting the initial target of 6,000 MW by 2030.

However, in March 2025, the Government requested that offshore wind power projects under the PDP VIII must complete by 2030.

Project

Manufacturing, processing push up industrial growth in five months

Published

3 hours ago

March 17, 2025

Industrialzone.net

Vietnam’s industrial sector experienced positive growth in the January-May period, with 55 out of 63 provinces and centrally-run cities nationwide reporting annual increases in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The GSO identified manufacturing, processing, and electricity production and distribution as the primary drivers of the growth. Provinces recording high growth included Phu Tho (31.2%), Bac Giang (24.9%), and Binh Phuoc (14.8%). However, some other provinces like Ha Tinh, Quang Ngai and Ca Mau saw respective declines of 9%, 8.25% and 2.5% in their indexes.

Overall, the national IIP in May continued its upward trajectory, rising 3.9% month-on-month and 8.9% year-on-year. The five-month period saw an yearly increase of 6.8%.

A deeper analysis revealed the processing and manufacturing industries as the key contributor to the growth, boasting a 7.3% rise and adding 6.4 percentage points to the overall increase. The electricity production and distribution sector also performed strongly, with 12.7% growth, contributing 1.1 percentage points. Additionally, the water supply, waste, and wastewater management sector went up 6.3%, adding 0.1 percentage point. However, the mining sector experienced a decline of 5.2%, resulting in a reduction of 0.8 percentage point in the overall growth.

Specific product categories within the processing and manufacturing sectors posted impressive growth. Production of rubber and plastic products surged by 27.4%, while electrical equipment saw a 24% increase. Production of chemicals and chemical products grew by 20.1%, followed by beds, cabinets, tables, and chairs (19.6%) and metal products (13.2%).

In light of these findings, the GSO proposed a series of recommendations to further bolster Vietnam’s industrial development. It urged the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) to prioritise a structural shift toward increasing the proportion of processing and manufacturing industries within the overall industrial sector, while simultaneously reducing reliance on the assembly and processing of imported products; enhance enterprise competitiveness and incentivise the use of domestically produced goods via technical barriers for certain imports.

Additionally, the GSO recommended that the MoIT refine key institutions such as the Key Industrial Law and the Law on Chemicals. Expediting the disbursement of public investment capital and hastening crucial projects in the fields of electricity, oil and gas, manufacturing, processing, and mining are also highlighted as crucial steps.

Head of the GSO’s Industrial and Construction Statistics Department Phi Thi Huong Nga suggested that localities should launch more stimulus and promotion schemes to increase purchasing power while helping industrial firms find partners and expand markets through trade exhibitions.