Businesses propose solutions to remove difficulties

Dong Nai currently has nearly 2,800 projects operating in industrial parks (IPs) and economic zones in the province. Businesses in IPs play a very important role in the overall economic development of the locality, especially in terms of job creation, contribution to the budget, and as a driving force for exports and imports.

Workers monitor the production process at a business in Ho Nai Industrial Park. Photo: Vuong The

In addition to efforts in production and business, in recent times, businesses in IPs have also encountered difficulties and obstacles in their operations, especially regarding infrastructure, labor supply, management of foreign workers, administrative procedures, etc., which require support and assistance.

Many difficulties

Traffic connecting to IPs, although mentioned previously, still has shortcomings. Nguyen Thi Phuong An, Head of Administration Department, Tin Dung Co., Ltd. (Ho Nai IP) said: Traffic jams frequently occur on Dieu Xien road connecting to Ho Nai IP. The reason is that traffic demand increases sharply during the shift change times of businesses (morning from 6:00 to 7:30, evening from 16:30 to 18:00), which also coincides with heavy circulation of large trucks. Meanwhile, this road is very narrow; there are also several schools on both sides of the road, making the problem of traffic jams during the aforementioned peak hours even more complicated, significantly affecting the operations of businesses.

According to Phuong An, Ho Nai IP is being expanded, and the number of businesses investing in this area will increase even more in the coming time, and the labor force will also grow rapidly. When there is no plan to expand the road and build connecting traffic routes, functional agencies need to have reasonable traffic regulation solutions, especially during peak hours, to avoid traffic jams and impacts on businesses' production and business.

In addition, the issue of labor supply is currently of great concern to many businesses. Annually, businesses in Dong Nai province need to recruit about 35,000-40,000 new workers. However, many businesses are currently facing a shortage of labor, especially high-quality labor in various professions. Training in the right professions to meet human resource needs for the future is essential and requires a long-term strategy.

Le Thi Ngoc Tram, representative of Penflex Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Ho Nai IP) shared: Currently, the company is in the process of developing production and business, so it has a need to recruit labor. In reality, businesses find it very difficult to recruit workers according to their needs, and sometimes do not even have enough workers to recruit. "We have also raised this issue in relevant conferences in the area for functional agencies to consider. In the coming time, with a series of new IPs being established, labor demand will increase significantly, and if not prepared in advance, businesses will face great difficulties in recruitment," Tram commented.

In addition, many other issues related to the accommodation of foreign workers are also a concern for businesses in IPs. Currently, accommodation infrastructure and services for high-quality workers and foreign experts do not meet the demand. A representative of a business in Amata IP wishes for policies that facilitate better management and residence of foreign workers in IPs.

Innovating the method of dialogue with businesses

For Dong Nai - a key province for industrial development, where businesses in IPs play a very important role, contributing significantly to the provincial budget and being a pillar of economic growth, accompanying businesses is therefore a very urgent requirement. With the motto "Government accompanies businesses," in recent times, the province has not only focused on attracting new projects but also paid attention to improving the investment environment and enhancing the trust of operating businesses.

Dong Nai has also made many changes in administrative procedure reform such as: shortening the time for investment licensing, business registration, completing the investment in industrial park infrastructure, and implement an electronic one-stop inter-connected system to help investors track the progress of their applications and ensure transparency in the resolution process. This helps businesses easily carry out procedures remotely, saving costs and time.

Annually, the Provincial People's Committee and functional agencies organize many conferences to meet and dialogue with foreign-invested enterprises (FDI) and domestic enterprises; specialized meetings on tax, customs, labor, industrial park operations, etc., to grasp difficulties and obstacles in order to take actions and accompany them in resolving issues; thereby further improving the province's investment environment.

Businesses wish to improve the effectiveness of conferences held for engagement, discussion and feedback collection, as there are still situations where some recommendations presented multiple times continue to persist...

In discussions with businesses in industrial parks, Pham Viet Phuong, Deputy Head in charge of the Provincial Industrial Parks and Economic Zones Management Board, once shared: The Board always listens and is ready to frankly discuss with businesses to resolve difficulties and obstacles. The "one-stop-shop, on-site" mechanism and accompanying investors throughout the project implementation process as well as production and business activities are key tasks. Dong Nai focuses on training and supplying high-quality human resources, creating a link between schools and businesses in demand-driven training. "In the coming time, the method of contacting businesses will be innovated; the hotline numbers of the board's leaders have also been made public so that businesses can directly contact them as quickly as possible to present their questions and recommendations," Phuong affirmed.

By Vuong The-Translted by Mai Nga, Thu Ha