HCMC proposes new industrial complex at Mekong Delta border

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has proposed to the Ministry of Planning and Investment that the Pham Van Hai Industrial Complex be included in the city’s plans to meet “foreign businesses’ demand to rent large areas of industrial land.”

The potential industrial complex would be about 30 km away from downtown HCMC. It would be in proximity of around 10 other industrial complexes in HCMC and its Mekong Delta neighbor Long An; and the two localities can support each other in attracting investments and talents.

HCMC wants the industrial complex to be a magnet for mechanical manufacturing, industrial robots, digital and information technology and food processing, among other fields. About 100 ha of land next to the complex would become residential and urban areas. Land clearance should be easy as 97 percent of the site required for the project is agriculture land managed by the city, according to the People’s Committee.

HCMC currently has 19 industrial complexes and free-trade zones, spanning over 4,500 ha in total. The southern city has seen several foreign corporations, like Logos, TTI, Goldman Sachs, Einhell and Quantum, looking to rent large areas, but there is not enough industrial land available in the city.

Industrial land available in HCMC has been declining since 2016, reducing its competitiveness in attracting investments, the HCMC Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority had said in January.