A hi-tech innovation center will be built at the Saigon Hi-tech Park (SHTP) in Ho Chi Minh City.

The SHTP management board granted the investment licence to the Hoa Binh Construction & Real Estate Corporation (HBC).

The SHTP management board granted the investment licence to the Hoa Binh Construction & Real Estate Corporation (HBC) on February 3 to carry out the project.

The centre worth 750 billion VND (33.75 million USD) will be built on an area of 2.5 hectares with a view to supporting tech start-up businesses.

It will look to help business people study and develop new material technologies, information-technology, and biological-pharmaceutical technology.

Chairman and CEO of the HBC Le Viet Hai said once operational, the centre will become a science-technology hub and a symbol of creativity.

The centre is expected to attract foreign investors, businesses, and scientists and create multinational cooperation in the field, he added.

Le Quoc Hoai, head of the SHTP management board, said some innovation projects have been active but at a small scale up until now and with only a local State budget.

Therefore, the HBC is considered a pioneer in the private business sector to establish a large-scale innovation centre at the SHTP, he added.

Particularly, the project is focused on combining information-technology and biological-pharmaceutical technology – the notable fields of the future, he said, adding that this model could be expanded across the country.

On schedule, the Hoa Binh innovation centre will come into operation for trial in late 2017.

It is expected to create 10-20 start-up businesses per year, which will register for 5-10 patents per annum.

VNA