A view of the Saigon Hi-Tech Park in HCM City. Investment projects for empty slots at the hi-tech park are being stalled as authorities wait to approve new rental price policies.

According to the Land Law, the government sets a new price frame for public lands every five years. The public land rental price in HCM City, including land in SHTP, expired in April last year. However, the city authority has yet to announce new rental prices.

Only two enterprises, with total investment of US$6.9 million, have been granted investment licences at the high-tech park since the beginning of the year, according to the SHTP management board.

This is a small number compared to the expectation of bringing in $500 million annually from SHTP, the board said.

Since the beginning of the year, 14 enterprises have been waiting to invest in the park, including five foreign enterprises.

According to a SHTP representative, the problem has affected the activities of certified investors. Many businesses have postponed projects because the management board had to suspend procedures related to land leasing.

To solve the problem, the SHTP management board has asked the citys People Committee to approve temporary rental prices set by SHTP.

The management board has also told enterprises to commit to pay the difference between the temporary price and the actual rental price, which will be issued by the citys People Committee for the 2020-25 period.

The SHTP has 154 projects which have been so far granted investment registration certificates, including 100 domestic-invested projects with total investment of VND39.7 trillion ($1.7 billion) and 54 foreign-invested projects with total investment of $5.2 billion.

Le Bich Loan, head of the parks management board, said the park has devised a plan to attract more enterprises to invest in SHTP.

The park is also planning to build dorms for workers on a total area of three hectares to meet accommodation demand for more than 10,000 workers at SHTP.

The construction project of a second High-Tech Park is expected to start in 2020. The park, which will cover 197ha in Long Phuoc Ward in District 9, aims to attract hi-tech investment in fields such as IoT, robot applications, 3D printing and blockchain technology. — VNS