Removing difficulties for investors and industrial parks in Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) - The Covid-19 epidemic has severely affected the operations of enterprises in industrial parks in Nghe An. Investment promotion activities have been interrupted, production, business, transportation, import and export... have been stalled; many units have had to stop and close due to the epidemic. It is extremely necessary to promptly remove difficulties to restore production in the context of the "new normal".
Occupancy prospects in industrial parks
As of September 10, 2021,Industrial ParkVSIP urban and service area has attracted 30 investment projects (including 14 FDI projects) with a land lease area of 131.14 hectares (out of a total factory construction land area of 263.23 hectares), reaching an occupancy rate of 49.82% (expected to attract more than 40,000 local workers).
The average investment rate of secondary projects in VSIP Nghe An Industrial Park is about 107.67 billion VND/ha (total investment capital of 11,612 billion VND/total leased land area of 107.85ha for 28 projects that have been granted Investment Registration Certificates).
Currently, VSIP Urban and Service Industrial Park has 20 investment projects in operation, creating initial jobs for more than 11,800 local workers. 3 other investors are building factories and the remaining 7 investors have completed investment procedures and are carrying out planning procedures to implement construction.
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| VSIP Nghe An Industrial Park today. Photo: Tran Chau |
The leader of VSIP Nghe An Co., Ltd. said: Currently, VSIP Nghe An is entering the negotiation stage with a number of investors on an area of about 16.44 hectares of land in the Industrial Park Phase 1 and about 40 hectares of land in the Industrial Park Phase 2, expected to sign a land lease agreement in the fourth quarter of 2021 this year, thereby increasing the occupancy rate to about 71% by the end of 2021.
It is known that there are currently a number of foreign investors from Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan who have a need to lease large areas of land at VSIP Nghe An (from 30ha - 60ha) such as: Luxshare ICT is looking to invest in 50ha, SIS (Infrastructure Development Investor Sembcorp - Singapore) is looking at 7ha, Yuen Foong Yu (Packaging Development Investor) from Taiwan is looking at 7ha and a number of high-tech investors have also come many times to look into investing in VSIP Nghe An Industrial Park Phase 2.
With a total area of 1,850 hectares after completion, WHA IZ 1 Industrial Park - Nghe An is a large industrial park with international standard infrastructure, connecting production, manufacturing and distribution centers serving domestic and international markets. Located in the Southeast Economic Zone with special incentive policies, WHA IZ 1 Industrial Park - Nghe An phase 1, with an area of 498 hectares, has an infrastructure system to meet the needs of large investors along with residential and commercial projects.
According to the report of the Southeast Economic Zone, from 2020 to present, VSIP Industrial Park has licensed 8 projects; WHA Industrial Park has licensed 7 projects; Hoang Mai I Industrial Park is completing investment procedures for 1 project. However, the implementation of social distancing and the costs incurred in epidemic prevention and control have also greatly affected investors who are building factories in the industrial park, significantly affecting the completion of construction as well as production and business.
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| Some factories have come into operation in VSIP NA 2 Urban Area. Photo: Tran Chau |
Solution to overcome difficulties
Recently, the Covid-19 epidemic has had a profound impact on industrial parks in Nghe An. Some workers tested positive, forcing businesses to close. Some investors have completed surveys and signed land lease contracts with infrastructure investors VSIP, WHA, Hoang Mai I but have not implemented investment licensing procedures because they have not been able to be present in Vietnam.
In addition to difficulties in production and business, businesses also have to spend a lot of money on epidemic prevention activities; it is difficult to recruit workers while import and export activities are stagnant. Meanwhile, the State's support policies on credit, taxes for businesses, and social security for workers are still difficult to access.
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| Packing corrugated iron products at Hoa Sen Nghe An Corrugated Iron Factory (Dong Hoi Industrial Park). Photo: Lam Tung |
Faced with the above difficult situation, Nghe An province has made efforts to promptly grasp the difficulties and find solutions to remove them for businesses.
Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Ngoc Hoa said: The province has directed working groups in the Economic Zone and Industrial Park to regularly monitor the situation of enterprises, creating conditions for 100% of workers to return to work at enterprises; There are specific plans to isolate and suppress the epidemic in each workshop and factory when there is a risk of contact. The province has focused on prioritizing Covid-19 vaccination for workers at enterprises in economic zones, industrial parks, and industrial clusters. Based on summarizing practices and current regulations, encourage and support enterprises to develop and implement measures to both ensure safety in epidemic prevention and control and adapt to maintain effective production activities.
Urgently implement support for businesses in the context of Covid-19 according to Resolution No. 105/NQ-CP dated September 9, 2021 of the Government; policies to support workers and businesses facing difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic according to Resolution No. 68/NQ-CP dated July 1, 2021 of the Government. Review the number of workers returning to Nghe An province from the northern and southern localities for consultation, training, and support in finding jobs in the province's economic zones, industrial parks, and industrial clusters.
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| Overview of the WHA project. Photo: Viet Phuong |
Nghe An currently has 1 economic zone (Southeast Economic Zone - area of 20,776.47ha) and 6 industrial parks (IPs) outside the economic zone (EZ) with a total area of 1,660ha. As of September 2021, the province has 6 industrial parks in operation, including: VSIP Industrial Park (367.6ha); WHA Industrial Park (498ha); Hoang Mai I Industrial Park (264.77ha); Dong Hoi Industrial Park (457.07ha); Nam Cam Industrial Park (327.83ha); Bac Vinh Industrial Park (60.16ha). Of which, Nam Cam, Bac Vinh, Dong Hoi Industrial Parks have basically filled their areas, and are currently attracting investment to fill VSIP, WHA, and Hoang Mai I Industrial Parks. Currently, there are 257 investment projects still in effect in the above industrial parks, with a total investment capital of VND 70,189.2 billion (equivalent to USD 3.03 billion), including 52 FDI projects with an investment capital of USD 1.09 billion; 205 domestic projects with an investment capital of VND 44,816.8 billion.
The total number of enterprises operating in the enterprises is 130 enterprises and 49 contractors, service units operating in the economic zones and industrial parks of the province. Production and business results of enterprises in 2020: revenue of 35,114 billion VND; payment to the state budget of 1,811 billion VND. In the first 7 months of 2021: revenue of 18,794 billion VND; payment to the state budget of 1,027 billion VND.