The Soai Rap Oil and Gas Services Industrial Park in Tien Giang Province’s Go Cong District was approved by provincial authorities in late 2008 with a total of 285ha.

It has drawn only one investor to build its workshop that produces steel pipes for the petrol industry.

Another project in Go Cong District, the 220ha Binh Dong IP which was approved three years ago, still exists on paper.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Khang said that a number of events called for investment, but the results were not positive, with most investors citing poor transport infrastructure connecting to HCM City.

An inability to provide clean water to the two IPs was cited as another hindrance.

Meanwhile, in the central region, economic zones such as Nhon Hoi in Binh Dinh Province, Van Phong in Khanh Hoa Province and Chan May-Lang Co in Thua Thien-Hue Province have had similar fates.

From 2006 to 2015, it was estimated that Van Phong EZ would need more than VND10 trillion ($500 million) for infrastructure development.

To date, VND761 billion (US$38 million) of VND630 billion from the central budget and VND131 billion from the local project have been spent, mostly for land-clearance compensation and mine-clearing work.

Authorities have asked investment-project owners to join hands in building infrastructure in exchange for a lower land rent.

However, the owners’ reactions have been tepid, mostly due to their limited financial capacity.

According to the Binh Dinh Economic Zone Management Board, the Nhon Hoi A IP has leveled the ground on 520ha, developed 67 per cent of roads inside the IPs, and leased over 36ha.

The Nhon Hoi B IP has levelled 260ha and leased 27ha. In total, the Nhon Hoi EZ has 36 investment projects with a combined registered capital of VND36 trillion ($1.8 billion), but only eight of them, mostly small-sized, have begun operation.

Thus, the target of attracting projects to create products and services to provide a large number of jobs for local people has not met expectations. This failure was due also to the lack of sufficient capital to invest in infrastructure, which has frightened away investors.

To improve the situation, Man Ngoc Ly, head of the Binh Dinh EZ Management Board, said the province would have to invest in infrastructure, especially in the Nhon Hoi Port. But he noted that finding capital sources would not be an easy task.