Building up green ecosystem, creating smart city

Part 2: Affirming Binh Duong brand

Bravely innovating the model of development, creating a smart city for breakthrough in socio-economic development, affirming the local brand in the international arena, Binh Duong has actively expanded bilateral and multilateral cooperation in many fields, attracting corporations and enterprises to invest in the local smart city and innovation region construction.

Enhancing cooperation, connection

In addition to promoting the construction of new-style industrial parks and green industries, Binh Duong actively expanded bilateral and multilateral cooperation in many fields over the years. The province set up diplomatic relations, helping it learn a lot of experience from major cities in the world. All also helped the province draw out appropriate development models, not only in the field of investment attraction, but also in many aspects of society such as urban planning, traffic, logistics infrastructure development, innovation and science and technology…

Binh Duong actively expands cooperation relations, attracting corporations and businesses to invest in building the local smart city - innovation region. In picture: Becamex IDC signs a cooperation agreement with CPC of the U.K

With the change of development dynamics to a new generation, based on expanding connectivity, innovation and science and technology, Becamex IDC has been trusted by provincial leaders to coordinate with agencies, departments, international partners from Eindhoven city in the Netherlands and Singapore, experts and scientists from other developed countries to implement the Binh Duong Innovation Region project. This is a breakthrough in the next phase of the Binh Duong Smart City Project, which is expected to develop Binh Duong into a province with a broader innovation ecosystem, creating the foundation for building an attractive investment climate, gradually becoming a smart production area that is less labor intensive, attracting industries with high gray matter and a healthy living environment. Up to now, Binh Duong has established bilateral cooperation relations with 10 foreign provinces and cities and is now an official member and reliable partner of many major international organizations such as the World Smart Community Forum (ICF), Asia Economic Cooperation Forum (Horasis), World Trade Center Association (WTCA).

Nguyen Van Hung, CEO of Becamex IDC said: “Over the past 25 years, Binh Duong tried to be proactive to grasp trends, consciously chose smart directions and participated in extensive connection into the international community at the local, inter-city scale. Since then, Binh Duong has learned a sustainable industrial development model, based on a complete ecosystem to serve investors, employees and people, creating a standard model and a major turning point in standardization of the local industrial development. Through the connections of the Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Binh Duong has proactively built, connected and closely associated with the embassies and consulates of other countries, serving as a premise for the province's enterprises to tap and connect with potential markets around the world. These are important levers to help Binh Duong develop and attract FDI strongly over the past 25 years.”

These linkages have opened up many international cooperation relations. For example, Binh Duong has twinned with South Korea’s Deajeon, Japan’s Yamaguchi, Holland’s Eindhoven..., thereby forming up many effective and meaningful projects, namely Binh Duong Smart City, Binh Duong Innovation Region, Smart Industrial Park, Science and Technology Industrial Park. Binh Duong's promotion of foreign joint venture cooperation has been highly appreciated and recognized by the international community. Specifically, for four consecutive years, Binh Duong has been honored by ICF in the TOP 21 cities with typical smart development strategies. Especially in 2021, Binh Duong was honored in TOP 7 and now continues trying to maintain the title for 2022. The fact that Binh Duong is the only locality in Vietnam for the 4th time in a row being honored by the ICF has affirmed its smart city development direction being is right in line with the world’s trends. These are also bright spots and motivation for Binh Duong to make a breakthrough in the new period.

Smart city building

From the leadership of the government, the province’s leading State-owned enterprises have promoted and formed up many joint ventures with partners from other countries such as the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) Joint Venture which has expanded its production-business activities to 11 provinces and cities across the country; the joint venture with Tokyu Corporation of Japan on developing high-quality urban areas, worth-living cities; the joint venture with NTT Corporation of Japan on telecommunications and information technology development; the joint venture with Wapus Pincus Investment Fund of the U.S to build logistics and logistics infrastructure for e-commerce; the joint venture with the Connected Places Catapult (CPC – the U.K); cooperation with Eindhoven City of the Netherlands to build the Binh Duong Smart City and Innovation Region projects. These joint ventures have gradually become steel fists in many fields, helping Binh Duong gather resources, promoting the local socio-economic development and smart city construction.

Pham Ngoc Thuan, General Director of Becamex IDC said: “Becamex aims at developing an ecosystem of health services, education and green infrastructure, creating a good living and working environment for employees. In the development strategy, Binh Duong province will further implement the "Binh Duong Smart City project for the period of 2022-2026" with integrated planning orientations across the province, focusing on training and attracting high-quality human resources, carrying out scientific and technological development, researching and developing the local innovative startup ecosystem, promoting the proportion of services. Especially e-commerce, international commerce with the typical project of the World Trade Center in Binh Duong New City have made breakthroughs in the international integration process while creating the new development momentum in the context of the industrial revolution 4.0”.

In 2016, Becamex IDC accompanied the province to develop the Smart City project and the Innovation Zone project. Determining that Binh Duong needs to take innovation and science and technology as its core, Becamex IDC has also joined the province in forming the Science and Technology Industrial Park. Becamex IDC and CPC have identified the cooperation as an ideal opportunity for Binh Duong to connect more strongly with technology and startup businesses. Dr. Amy Hochadel, International Business Manager of CPC said: “After researching, we put our faith in the sustainable cooperation between CPC and Becamex IDC. Becamex IDC's innovation model helps feel a catalytic relationship similar to the goals we set when implementing smart city projects. Binh Duong is also the most suitable place for innovation activities. (to be continued)

Reported by Phuong Le-Quang Tri-Translated by Kim Tin