At a meeting with Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong late last week, Sembcorp Development CEO and VSIP co-chairman Kelvin Teo said the “innovation park” is going to be different from VSIP’s usual model.

 

The park is going to include a commercial centre, research facilities, and residential quarters, and is intended to be a place for scientists, developers, and investors to research and develop technologies and products with higher added values for international companies.

 

According to Teo, Ho Chi Minh City is a suitable location for the park because the city has been attracting a lot of foreign direct investment from big technology companies and its infrastructure and the quality of labour force has been improving at a breathtaking speed.

 

Chairman Phong commented that the project is welcomed by the city as it falls in line with its development orientation. He added that Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) has a 200 hectare zone that is just perfect for the park. SHTP has a modern infrastructure and has attracted many big investors in the field of technology. In the near future SHTP is going to be a stop along Metro line no. 1 (Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien), further appreciating its business worth.

 

Phong carried on requesting Sembcorp to work with SHTP’s management authority. Sembcorp is going to receive the investment license to develop the park in September or October if the parties can reach an agreement and complete all procedures by then.

 

Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park is a joint venture between Becamex IDC Corporation and a consortium of three companies from Singapore which is majority led by Sembcorp Development. Other partners holding a stake in VSIP are Mitsubishi Corporation Development Asia and KPM Vietnam Investment. So far, VSIP has been successfully developing integrated townships and industrial parks in Binh Duong, Bac Ninh, Haiphong, Nghe An, and Quang Ngai. It has recently started construction of one such project in Hai Duong.