Hanoi is committed to providing unwavering support to the business community and entrepreneurs. It will continue to implement resolute and coordinated solutions to facilitate and improve the investment and business environment.

Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh at the conference. Photos: Hoai Nam/The Hanoi Times

Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Tran Sy Thanh made the remarks today [5 April] at a dialogue held by the city to address concerns of local businesses and investors.

In the immediate future, the focus will be on administrative reform, specifically streamlining administrative procedures. The aim is to establish core values ​​with the motto "Government service  - Business commitment - Society trusts - People's happiness," said Thanh.

According to the city’s mayor, over the past years, Hanoi has consistently emphasized the role of the business community and entrepreneurs, recognizing them as the primary material production force and a crucial driving force for the socio-economic development of the capital.

To establish and maintain timely, practical, and effective information exchange channels between the city government and the business community in Hanoi, as well as supporting and resolving the challenges faced by enterprises and investors in the city, in 2024, the Municipal People's Committee will organize six dialogue conferences to support businesses on specific issues, Thanh said.

Overview of the conference.

“Today's conference marks the first in a series aimed at addressing difficulties, facilitating business operations, and promoting production for enterprises investing and operating in the city's industrial parks and clusters,” he continued.

During the conference, businesses raised concerns about the difficulties and obstacles they face in the management, investment, development, and operation of industrial parks and clusters (IPCs). Specifically, they faced issues related to industrial development policies and infrastructure development within the land domain, construction permits, approval of detailed planning at a 1/500 scale, environmental impact assessment reports, land use confirmation, project schedule adjustments, capital difficulties, and a lack of high-quality human resources.

Ulrich Petersen, Director of Investment and Marketing at the Hanoi High-Tech Biological Technology Zone, highlighted several challenges related to the project's land clearance mechanisms as well as the establishment plan of the zone. "The Hanoi Municipal People's Committee should instruct departments, sectors, and the Bac Tu Liem District People's Committee to remove obstacles to expedite the project," he suggested.

Ulrich Petersen, Director of Investment and Marketing at the Hanoi High-Tech Biological Technology Zone.

Similarly, Nguyen Hoang Hai, Deputy General Director of the Urban Infrastructure Development Investment Corporation (UDIC), said their company invested in three IPCs in the Soc Son district, covering an area of over 78 hectares. They have completed land clearance for more than 56 hectares and synchronized technical infrastructure for the entire area, moving towards the acceptance of fire prevention and fighting facilities. However, the remaining land area cannot be cleared due to its location within a cemetery. Therefore, the city should extend the project implementation deadline, and the Soc Son district should construct a centralized cemetery to facilitate land clearance.

To address these challenges, Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh called on local authorities to make greater efforts to address issues of investors and businesses. In particular, he expected relevant agencies and industrial park investors to organize regular meetings to promptly resolve difficulties faced by enterprises.

In the long term, Thanh expected the city to focus on planning, investing, and constructing infrastructure to create a favorable investment and business environment, accelerate the investment progress of industrial parks, and implement the set plans and targets.

“The aim is to maximize the potential and advantages for industrial development and lay the foundations for the development of other sectors,” he said.

Nguyen Hoang Hai, Deputy General Director of the Urban Infrastructure Development Investment Corporation.

Building a modern industrial sector

Speaking at the dialogue, Tran Thi Phuong Lan, Acting Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade, said that there are currently 10 industrial parks in operation in the city of Hanoi, covering a total land area of 1,348 hectares. The infrastructure investment in these industrial parks amounts to $379 million.

To date, these industrial parks have attracted 709 projects, including 300 foreign-invested projects with a registered capital of nearly $6.7 billion and 409 domestic projects with a registered capital of over VND26 trillion ($1.04 billion)

Furthermore, the city's People's Committee is investing in the construction of technical infrastructure for 44 industrial clusters and organizing the assessment for the establishment of 25 industrial clusters on an area of 288 hectares.

The formation of these industrial clusters has helped relocate environmentally polluting facilities away from residential areas, benefiting over 1,350 craft villages and communities, thereby reducing pollution and unregulated production activities. This also facilitates land clearance for businesses and encourages investment in industrial clusters, thereby accelerating industrial growth and restructuring the city's economy.

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen, said the city’s development goal by 2030 is to have a modern, specialized industrial sector with stable and sustainable growth, serving as a growth engine for the Red River Delta region and country as a whole.

Overview of the conference.

According to Quyen, Hanoi strives to increase the industrial and construction sectors' contribution to the city's economy to approximately 22.5-23% by 2025 and 24-25% by 2030. Industrial growth is projected to reach between 8.5-9% annually from 2021 to 2025 and above 8-8.5% annually from 2021 to 2030, with the industrial sector expected to contribute around 16.5-17% of the GRDP by 2025.

In the period from 2021 to 2025, Hanoi plans to establish 2-5 new industrial parks and another   5 industrial parks with a total area of 1,307 hectares in the national industrial park development plan for the period of 2025-2030.

By 2030, Hanoi envisions having 159 industrial clusters covering a total area of 3,204.31 hectares, expanding 5 previously planned industrial clusters established between 2017 and 2020 with a total area of approximately 45 hectares, and building 21 new industrial clusters with an area of about 536 hectares.

Nguyen Anh Duong, Director of the Hanoi Promotion Agency (HPI), stated that given the agency’s role as a bridge between businesses and the government, it will continue to make great efforts to support businesses for the common development of Hanoi and the country.

“The focus is to continue to organize numerous trade promotion activities, seek partners, and expand the image and quality products of Hanoi's craft villages to provinces, cities, and countries worldwide,” said Duong.