Building a roadmap for innovation in key economic sectors

Dong Nai is working to achieve rapid and sustainable growth in the years ahead. As part of this effort, the city is gradually shifting toward a higher-quality development model across its key economic sectors.

Representatives of a Dong Nai enterprise visit an international machinery and manufacturing technology exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City in 2025.

Reforming the growth model, promoting technological innovation in strategic industries, and developing roadmaps and solutions for future growth are among the key tasks that Dong Nai has been actively pursuing.

Attracting strategic industries

To lay the foundation for transforming its growth model and enhancing the local economy's competitiveness, Dong Nai issued Plan No. 06/KH-UBND in early 2026 to develop a technology innovation roadmap for key economic sectors through 2035.

Under the plan, the city will promote the restructuring of strategic industries toward a modern development model driven by science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation. Priority sectors include artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductor and microchip technologies, advanced manufacturing technologies, high-tech agriculture, biotechnology and advanced healthcare, renewable energy and green technologies, environmental technologies, education technology and digital entertainment, as well as smart transportation, logistics, and mobility technologies.

By gradually mastering and applying strategic technologies, Dong Nai expects to strengthen enterprises’ innovation capabilities, increase the added value embedded in products, and create new momentum for rapid and sustainable economic growth in the coming years.

According to Nguyen Kim Long, Member of the City Party Committee (CPC)’s Standing Board and Standing Vice Chairman of the Dong Nai People's Committee, the city aims to become a high-tech industrial center, a modern urban hub, an international logistics center, a global service destination, and a center for high-tech agriculture with strong regional integration and global connectivity.

Each sector, depending on its specific characteristics, needs its own development orientation. In the processing and manufacturing industry, the application of automation, industrial robotics, smart manufacturing, and digital technologies will help enterprises improve productivity, reduce costs, and increase product value. Likewise, in the logistics sector, Long Thanh International Airport is driving significant demand for supply chain management technologies, smart logistics solutions, and digital infrastructure. This undertaking is regarded as one of the new drivers of the city’s economic growth.

According to Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director General of the Agency of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the development of Dong Nai’s logistics services should be oriented toward making it an international-level hub by leveraging its strengths and potential.

The direction chosen by Dong Nai is also consistent with the expectations of the central government. During a working session with the CPC’s Standing Board on May 18, held in connection with the National Assembly’s resolution establishing Dong Nai City, Party General Secretary and State President To Lam emphasized the need to create a new growth model. To move beyond the limits of a traditional industrial center, Dong Nai must be driven by productivity, technology, knowledge-based industries, innovation, and stronger linkages with domestic enterprises, he said.

Accelerating technological innovation

To support long-term economic growth, Dong Nai aims to, by 2030, gradually develop and deploy core technologies, strengthen enterprises’ technological innovation capacity, and increase value-added contributions across strategic industries. By 2035, the city seeks to establish a leading position in several technology sectors, accelerate technological transformation, effectively tap domestic and international market demand, and improve its ability to access and master breakthrough technologies.

Green transformation is considered a decisive factor in ensuring sustainable growth during the next development phase. Accordingly, Dong Nai will focus on assessing global technology trends, domestic and international market demand, and identifying core technologies capable of generating breakthrough progress.

Regarding implementation, the city’s technology innovation roadmap consists of three phases.

The first phase, covering 2026-2027, will focus on capacity building and digital transformation. Priority will be given to strengthening foundational capabilities, digitizing processes, and developing core data layers for a strategic technology map.

The 2028-2030 phase will mark a shift toward innovation and high-value development through the application of the technology map. This phase will focus on applying assessment results, vigorously promoting innovation, shifting to higher-technology products, and attracting high-quality foreign direct investment (FDI). The 2031-2035 phase will involve compiling and evaluating implementation results, making appropriate adjustments to the roadmap, and, once established, forming digital technology industry enterprise incubators in concentrated information technology industrial parks, innovation zones, and high-tech parks.

Alongside investment attraction efforts, Dong Nai is also gradually transforming its industrial park development model to support modernization and greener production. The city is positioning its industrial parks and economic zones as modern, eco-friendly facilities deeply integrated into global value chains. Priority will be given to developing strategic industries, emerging technologies, and high-tech sectors, while expanding specialized industrial parks, high-tech industrial parks, eco-industrial parks, and industrial support services.

According to Pham Viet Phuong, Acting Deputy Head of the Dong Nai Economic and Industrial Zones Authority, investment trends are changing significantly.

Investors are placing greater emphasis on a stable investment environment, modern infrastructure, logistics connectivity, workforce quality, and compliance with sustainable development standards.

Therefore, upgrading infrastructure, improving service quality, and strengthening support for enterprises will be crucial to maintaining Dong Nai’s competitiveness and attracting new investment in the years ahead.

By V.The – Translated by M.Nguyet, Minho