Delays in issuing land use rights certificates, poor infrastructure and a shortage of labor are among numerous difficulties being faced by manufacturing firms in processing and industrial zones in HCMC.

A corner of Tan Thuan Processing Zone in HCMC’s District 7

Speaking at a meeting held by the HCMC Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (Hepza) on March 1, participating firms said that although the city has made efforts to improve the investment environment, many obstacles remain unsolved.

In particular, waste treatment facilities have operated ineffectively, affecting the performance of firms and hindering the sustainable development of zones.

Additionally, flooding, traffic jams and a lack of skilled laborers are also hindering firms from gaining ground.

Notably, enterprises complained that recruitment has been tough, especially in the post-Tet period.  

A representative of Saigon Precision Company said that after the Tet holiday, the firm is facing difficulties due to a shortage of workers, adding that many laborers travelled to their hometowns to celebrate the Tet holiday and have not returned to work.

Some firms attributed the thinning-out workforce to job-hopping employees seeking work at other new industrial parks being established throughout the country.

In addition, to boost the attraction of foreign direct investment, the city should speed up the development of traffic infrastructure and further improve the environment and quality of workers’ lives, according to the participating firms.

Apart from this, companies investing in infrastructure should quickly complete legal procedures on the issuance of land use right certificates for enterprises in processing and industrial zones, so they can expand their production.

The city is home to three processing zones and 16 industrial parks, with a combined area of over 4,500 hectares. These processing and industrial zones have attracted more than 1,600 projects, with total registered capital of some US$10.7 billion and have created jobs for 290,000 workers, said a Hepza representative. 

The city, however, saw a sign of declining capital inflows into the processing and industrial zones in 2018, the representative said, adding that some US$772 million was poured into the zones last year, edging down 8.07% against 2017.

SGT