Thai Nguyen needs consistent, efficient industrial cluster management and development policies

Phan Ba Truong, Deputy Director of Thai Nguyen Province Department of Industry and Trade, said that after the Prime Minister issued Decision 105/QD-TTg on IC management, the province reviewed existing ICs and prepared development plans to attract investment. However, some ICs, established before Decision 105 was issued, are finding it hard to attract investors due to insufficient available land, Truong said.

Thai Nguyen is facing many other problems in IC management and development. According to Government Decree 68/2017/ND-CP, a district can establish new ICs only when existing ICs in the district have more than 50 percent of their total area leased out to investors or have less than 50ha of area unused. This provision makes it impossible for a number of districts to form new ICs.

Explaining the implications, a representative of Viet A International Development Investment Joint Stock Company said Diem Thuy IC in the province’s Phu Binh District was established and invested according to two different decrees. Although they have similar regulations, the decrees are being implemented by two different authorities, leading to overlapping management, time wasting and potential policy clashes, he said.

The vast majority of businesses in industrial clusters are small domestic enterprises that are not competitive in international markets but have provided a large number of jobs for local workers. However, they are benefiting from incentives considerably less attractive than those for businesses located in industrial parks.