Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has told local authorities to remove industrial parks (IPs) failing to attract investment projects.

He was speaking at a meeting of the National Steering Committee for Economic Zones and Industrial Parks Development held in Hanoi last week.

According to a report by the committee, as of last year, 295 IPs had been established with a total acreage of nearly 84,000 hectares. Of these parks, 212 with 60,000 hectares have been put into operation and the remaining 83 with 24,000 hectares are still in the site clearance and compensation processes.

Around 26,000 hectares of industrial land at the operational IPs had been leased out and the occupancy rate had amounted to over 65%.

The report pointed out that last year the IPs and EZs attracted 752 new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with total registered capital of US$10.7 billion. Meanwhile, 515 operational projects at these zones added an additional US$4 billion.

The authorities of IPs and EZs cancelled 88 projects worth a combined US$1 billion last year.

In the manufacturing sector, FDI capital committed to IPs and EZs accounted for over 90% of the country’s total FDI amount. Projects at IPs and EZs disbursed over US$13.5 billion last year, a 30% jump against 2013.

As of last year, the IPs nationwide had attracted a combined 5,573 FDI projects worth US$85.5 billion in total, of which US$49 billion (57%) had been disbursed. Meanwhile, 247 FDI projects had been licensed into the EZs with total capital of US$37 billion, US$13.5 billion of it (36%) disbursed.

Foreign investors also poured over US$700 million into 70 projects at the border EZs.

Regarding domestic investments last year, the IPs and EZs attracted 588 fresh projects whose capital totaled over VND176 trillion and 196 operational projects revised up their capital pledges by VND20 trillion. There were 161 domestic projects worth VND28 trillion cancelled last year.

In all, there are 5,459 domestic projects at IPs nationwide with registered capital totaling VND541.6 trillion and disbursements amounting to VND265.4 trillion.

According to the report, the coastal EZs attracted 777 projects worth VND541.8 trillion while the respective figures at the border gate EZs were 500 and nearly VND40 trillion. 

A report by the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed local authorities have cancelled and are planning to cancel the IPs which have neither found investors nor cleared land.

According to the report, Vinh Phuc Province has done away with Ba Thien Industrial Park and assigned the Vinh Phuc Industrial Zones Authority to build infrastructure for this IP in phase one. In addition, the authority has downsized Binh Xuyen II Industrial Park from 481.5 hectares to 45.6 hectares and is calling for Japan’s Sumitomo to invest in the park.

In Hai Duong Province, the provincial IP authority is completing procedures to revoke the investment certificate from the Taiwanese developer of Cam Dien-Luong Dien IP and transfer this project to Vietnam-Singapore Industrial and Urban Development Company. It is also urging the investor of Cong Hoa-Chi Linh IP to develop infrastructure and attract investors.

Meanwhile, Hung Yen Province has asked IP developers to accelerate the building of infrastructure and is planning to leave out Minh Quang, Vinh Phuc, Ngoc Long and Megastar IPs in the IP development plan until 2020.

The IP authority of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province has been told to find a capable investor to develop infrastructure for Long Huong IP, and force the developer of Long Son IP to speed up site clearance and compensation. If the developer is in financial distress, the IP must reduce its size or be cancelled.

Vinh Phuc, Quang Ninh, Binh Phuoc, Tien Giang and Ca Mau provinces are also seeking capable investors to resume the IP projects whose investment certificates have been taken back from incapable investors.

Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan provinces have revoked the investment certificates of Nam Cam IP and Du Long IP.

The MPI report also showed 14 IPs have been unable to attract investors, clear land and build infrastructure.