The report also showed that local investors poured VND1.18 quadrillion (US$52.7 billion) investments into some 7,000 projects in the industrial zones (IZs).

IZs have contributed trillions of Vietnamese dong to the State budget each year and provided millions of jobs. Last year, IZs contributed VND90.3 trillion to the national coffer and employed 2.6 million people.

However, the occupancy rate of IZs has remained low. The report revealed that some 285,000 hectares, or just 49 per cent of the total industrial land was leased to date. The occupancy rate of 219 IZs, which were in operation, averaged nearly 70 per cent.

More than 90 IZs were under construction.

The report said that Viet Nam had 16 economic zones.

Under the target approved by the National Assembly (NA), the industrial land would total 200,010 hectares by 2020, increasing by 96,680 hectares from 2015.

At the NA meeting in March, the government proposed to reduce the target of industrial land to 191,420 hectares by 2020, however.

The NA Economic Department said that the government would review the IZs and economic zones nationwide to ensure socio-economic efficiency.