Binh Duong provincial party committee secretary Mai The Trung said the visit was a milestone in the warm friendship between Singapore and Vietnam in general, and Binh Duong province, in particular. The southern province’s economy has been benefiting from many Singaporean-invested projects.

Trung thanked the Singaporean government for its help in creating good conditions for investors coming to Vietnam and Binh Duong and committed to offer more incentives to Singaporean investors, focusing on the supporting and high-tech industries.

After visiting VSIP Binh Duong, Singapore-backed Mapletree Group’s high-tech industrial zone and Binh Duong New City with his delegation, Yam said he was impressed by the province’s infrastructure, economic and social development compared to 16 years ago when he visited Vietnam for the first time.

The president also said he was glad to see Singaporean investors’ achievements gained in Vietnam and Binh Duong province, especially the development of Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park Group (VSIP), which was established in 1996 by the alliance of Singapore’s Sembcorp and Vietnamese firm Becamex IDC.

VSIP is a symbol of the effective cooperation between Singapore and Vietnam with four large-scale industrial park projects in Binh Duong, Haiphong, Bac Ninh and Quang Ngai provinces.

The projects have attracted 465 committed investors, with 313 of them being operational tenants totalling an investment capital of $5.28 billion, creating jobs for 110,000 workers and significantly contributing to local budgets.

A dynamic province

Binh Duong is located in the southern key economic quadrangle which covers Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria Vung Tau and Ho Chi Minh City. For many years, the province enjoys a high gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate, at around 14-15 per cent annually.

The province’s economic structure has shifted towards increasing the proportion of industry and services. By the end of 2011, the industrial sector built up 62.2 per cent of the local economy while services and agriculture contributed 33.7 per cent and 4.1 per cent, respectively.

The province has 28 industrial parks and zones covering 10,000 hectares, with an average occupancy rate of 65 per cent. Particularly, a 4,196ha industrial-service-residences complex project has been developed, with its heart being Binh Duong New City.

With its rapid socio-economic infrastructure development and a consistent top rank in the Provincial Competitiveness Index, Binh Duong has been one the most attractive destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam for many years.

In 2012’s first quarter, despite the gloomy global and domestic economy, the province still attracted over $1.5 billion in newly committed FDI capital, raising the total registered FDI in the province to $16.2 billion with 2.049 FDI effective projects.

Binh Duong New City

The construction of Becamex IDC’s 1,000ha Binh Duong New City project plays an important role in the comprehensive development of the province’s urban system, contributing to upgrading Binh Duong into a central government-managed city by 2020. The city’s infrastructure will be completed and connected to other areas of the province and the southern key economic region.

Technical infrastructure facilities, including power and water supplies and optical fibre telecommunications systems have been built. Meanwhile, parks, sport areas and education developments have been developed and put into operation.

Especially, the Binh Duong political and administrative centre, a symbol of the province’s development in a new era, will be located in Binh Duong New City. A high-tech approach will give the public significant buy-in into effective and friendly administrative reforms.

Besides large-scale developments, cultural-exhibition, shopping and financial centres, hotels and restaurants will create a vibrant living and working environment.