Eco-industrial park development enriches knowledge, attracts investment, saves costs

To quickly adapt to the continuous development of science and technology, and at the same time to establish a solid foundation for the development of industrial parks in the coming time, on the morning of June 27, Becamex IDC and the World Bank (WB) cooperated to hold a conference to announce results of pre-feasibility studies on the development potential of eco-Industrial Parks (EIP) in Binh Duong, with focus on Bau Bang industrial parks - urban -  service areas.

The conference on research and development of ecological industrial zones held in Binh Duong on June 27.

Take the lead

On May 28, 2022, the Government issued Decree 35/2022 ND-CP "Regulations on management of economic zones and industrial zones". The Decree orients the construction of economic zones, industrial zones, industrial - urban - service zones, EIPs, reducing energy consumption, limiting greenhouse gas emissions, focusing on social responsibility and being managed according to the Government model.

Nah Yoon Shin, WB's expert in private sector, said that to support Vietnam's commitment to EIP development, the WB has initiated a technical assistance project. This project aims to assess the feasibility of EIPs in selected industrial zones across the country, with the goal of supporting the enhancement of environmental competitiveness for manufacturing industries through the establishment of EIPs.  Becamex IDC and Binh Duong were selected as the main partners for this project.

At the workshop, a group of WB experts and KPMG Company (India) shared research results of this project. Accordingly, the results achieved so far have provided a lot of useful information not only to State agencies at central and local levels, but also directly to customers and investors attending this conference, service providers in industrial zones.

Speaking at the conference, Mai Hung Dung, Member of Provincial Party Standing Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of Provincial People's Committee, said the province fully supports the pre-feasibility study for EIP implementation opportunities in Bau Bang district between the WB and Becamex IDC. It is believed that this cooperation would bring great contributions, contributing to industrial development for Binh Duong and the whole country in the direction of green, smart and sustainable. The conference is an important step, laying the foundation for the next stage. Binh Duong hopes that the WB would continue to accompany the province, have cooperation programs, and support the province in carrying out further studies in order to concretize solutions to transform existing IPs as well as build new ones as smart - eco-industrial industrial zones, serving as a premise for widespread development throughout the province as well as bringing positive influences to other provinces and cities.

Important and indispensable

During nearly 30 years of establishment and development, industrial parks have actively contributed to the socio-economic development of Binh Duong, facilitating the formation and development of urban areas and concentrated residential areas. Besides, industrial parks create a significant source of budget revenue, create jobs and stable income for hundreds of thousands of employees, making an important contribution to maintaining the economic growth rate and industrial production value of the province.

Pham Ngoc Thuan, General Director of Becamex IDC, said that according to the plan of continuing to innovate the development model of Becamex, smart - eco-industrial park is considered as one of the important new-type ecosystems and necessity of the times to complement the existing industrial - urban - service ones. Stemming from the desire to build an eco-smart industrial park, since February 2023, Becamex has accompanied the World Bank and the technical consultant KPMG to carry out a pre-feasibility study on development opportunities of EIPs in accordance with Decree No. 35/2022/ND-CP of the Government and according to the international EIP framework for Bau Bang industrial - urban - service zones.

“In a relatively short working time, the professional team of the World Bank, KPMG and Becamex IDC have accomplished a very large amount of work, from field surveys in Becamex IDC's industrial parks in Binh Duong, especially in Bau Bang district. The professional team directly interviewed firms operating in the industrial parks, exchanged information about service providers such as electricity, water, telecommunications, etc. to grasp the needs and current status of the parties, then processed documents and collected data, analyzed, discussed and set up plans to build a true EIP in the future", added Mr. Pham Ngoc Thuan. 

- Mai Hung Dung, Member of Provincial Party Standing Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of Provincial People's Committee: Binh Duong orients to transform traditional industrial zones into an eco-smart industrial park. At the same time, the province focuses on investment attraction into high-tech, environment-friendly supporting industries, improving labor quality, and creating high added value. In that spirit, Binh Duong encourages innovation and digital transformation of industries, increasing production efficiency, saving resources, and ensuring sustainable environmental factors.

- Nah Yoon Shin, a WB's expert in private sector: The development of EIP in Binh Duong is expected to bring many significant benefits, including knowledge enrichment, FDI attraction and cost savings. By establishing an internationally recognized EIP, Binh Duong not only gains valuable insights and performance monitoring, but also becomes an attractive destination for leading investors and FDI.

- Pham Ngoc Thuan, General Director of Becamex IDC: Becamex IDC will upgrade existing IPs to become smarter, helping firms easily convert to smart factory model, smart production to increase labor productivity. For new industrial parks, the tasks of planning and forming smart management solutions and ecological criteria will also be specifically considered from the outset. This contributes to attracting industries with high added value, green and environmentally friendly industries, as a premise for the future scientific technological industrial parks.

Reported by Ngoc Thanh - Translated by Ngoc Huynh