Removing bottlenecks to attract investment in industrial cluster infrastructure

Industrial clusters (ICs) play an important role in local industrial development, driving socio-economic restructuring and guiding enterprises into concentrated production zones. Despite their significant role and the existence of policies aimed at promoting the development of this model, investment attraction in IC infrastructure nationwide, as well as in Dong Nai province, remains sluggish.

The infrastructure of Xuan Hung IC (Xuan Hoa commune) is being completed to attract business investment. Photo: Duc Quy

Removing obstacles, improving mechanisms and policies in line with private-sector economic development, and creating favourable conditions to attract investment in ICs are urgent tasks at present.

Progress falls short of expectations

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, by the end of June 2025, detailed plans of more than 1,000 ICs had been approved nationwide, covering about 37,400 hectares. This accounts for 47.3% of the total number and 37.5% of the total planned area of ICs. Of these, 814 ICs have had infrastructure investment projects approved, with total capital demand exceeding VND 192.5 trillion. To date, investment in infrastructure items has reached more than VND 63.3 trillion, meeting only 32.9% of the plan. Most ICs have yet to complete infrastructure, particularly in terms of centralised wastewater treatment systems, which have not received adequate attention.

In Dong Nai, following the provincial merger, 63 ICs with an area of over 3,000 hectares have been planned. Among them, seventeen ICs have been operational, and 10 have already built centralised wastewater treatment systems. Currently, 24 out of the 63 ICs have received official establishment decisions, 12 of which have basically completed the common technical infrastructure. Four ICs – Tan An Building Materials, Xuan Hung, Tam An, and Long Phuoc 1 – have been allocated or leased land by competent authorities to launch common technical infrastructure invesment.

These figures highlight that while IC infrastructure investment is critical and pressing, progress of investment attraction remains slow. The selection of investors for IC technical infrastructure development, as regulated by Decree No. 32/2024/ND-CP, is not fully aligned with the laws on investment, land, and bidding. This has caused confusion for localities in advising provincial People's Committees on selecting appropriate infrastructure investors.

For enterprises in the province, demand for land, particularly in concentrated production areas such as industrial parks and ICs, is significant, yet access remains extremely difficult. According to Vu Nhu Y, Deputy Director of Domilk Joint Stock Company (Long Thanh commune), the company seeks to expand its operations, including establishing production plants in several localities. However, despite its extensive efforts in reaching out to various places in recent times, suitable sites remain unavailable. Therefore, the enterprise hopes the State will soon introduce supportive mechanisms to resolve these obstacles.

Dong Nai is also piloting the development of green ICs, namely Quang Trung 1, Quang Trung 2, and Hang Gon. Yet, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has not issued specific guidance on this matter. Therefore, early issuance of such guidance is necessary to provide a basis for advising the provincial People's Committee.

TRUONG TAN NHAT LINH, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade

Multiple solutions to boost IC infrastructure development

According to Nguyen Thi Lam Giang, Director General of the Agency for Innovation, Green Transition and Industrial Promotion (IGIP) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, since the issuance of Decree No. 32/2024/ND-CP on the management and development of ICs on March 15, 2024, the ministry has released guiding documents and organised training courses to support the implementation within its jurisdiction, as stipulated in the decree. However, bottlenecks remain unresolved. Investment in technical infrastructure by state-run units has been slow. Local budget resources are limited, with no capacity to allocate funding for the synchronous development of technical infrastructure. At the same time, some localities face difficulties in attracting enterprises both for technical infrastructure construction and occupancy as secondary businesses.

To further promote IC development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has drafted amendments to Decree 32. Proposed measures include expanding land reserves, increasing tax incentives, and enhancing infrastructure support to attract investment and foster sustainable growth. Specifically, the draft suggests allowing priority enterprises to lease up to 20 hectares per cluster or 5% of the total IC land area, with accompanying support for essential infrastructure investment such as transport, electricity, water, and wastewater treatment. Tax incentives would also be clearly stipulated.

The ministry has proposed that the National Assembly consider enacting a Law on Business Investment to clearly stipulate that projects on technical infrastructure development should not be subject to investment policy approval procedures. It has also suggested amending and supplementing regulations to allow additional forms of investor selection, as regulated by the Government, alongside the three current forms of auction, bidding, and investment policy approval.

According to Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Truong Tan Nhat Linh, developing ICs will help relocate industrial facilities from urban and residential areas into clusters, thereby freeing up land for urban, service, and commercial development in the area. The difficulties in infrastructure investment attraction as well as the overlapping and inconsistent policies related to IC development, must be resolved. This will generate resources and mechanisms to enable ICs to fulfil their role as growth drivers of local industry and handicraft industry.

By Van Gia - Translated by My Le, Thu Ha