What are solutions to upgrade industry in Southeastern region?

Part1: Creating new growth drivers

Industry in the Southeastern region is facing many problems that need to be resolved. For example, the development speed of the industry is not commensurate with potential. Its potential and advantages have not been fully tapped. The industry is mainly in processing and assembling, with low added value, slow development of auxiliary industries...

Focusing on new technology projects

At the recent fourth conference of the Coordinating Council for the Southeastern Region, the Government, leaders of ministries, sectors and localities in the region all said that industry is one of the three important pillars of the region's development, but is unsustainable, with low added value, unreasonable allocation, heavy dependence on foreign investment enterprises. In addition, its investment environment and competitiveness are still limited without the close linkage of the region.

Leaders of the Trade Promotion Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade have a look at local industrial products at the recent Southeastern Region Export Conference

Regarding this issue, Nguyen Chi Dung, Minister of Planning and Investment said that in the first 7 months of 2024, economic growth in the Southeastern region will only reach 5.58%, lower than the general average level of the whole country, only higher than the Central Highlands of 3.86%. In the face of this reality, the Government, ministries, sectors and localities believe that there needs to be a coordinated development direction, promoting the region's potential and strengths from the driving forces of industrial growth.

According to Phan Tam, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, it is necessary to develop information technology (IT) in the driving economic region of the Southeastern region, taking Ho Chi Minh city as the core region under the orientations for technology research and development, focusing on high-tech production activities with high added value and gradually moving to localities in dynamic economic region. In addition, it is necessary to take advantage of and promote the potential and advantages of each locality and each region to create a reciprocal impact and spread the development of IT to the entire region; focus on attracting foreign investment in the field of manufacturing electrical and electronic products, internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) products with priority given to attracting high-tech projects, new technologies, with research and development activities, and production joint ventures with Vietnamese enterprises.

For Binh Duong province, a centralized IT park is currently being implemented to develop IT and communications. Binh Duong province is also actively coordinating with the Ministry of Information and Communications to implement a project on building an industrial and IT dynamic region in the provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Ba Ria - Vung Tau.

Close connection

Thai Thanh Phong, Deputy Director of Dong Nai provincial Department of Industry and Trade said that over the past time, in a number of industrial parks in Dong Nai province, industrial links have been formed and developed by businesses connecting themselves or through trade promotion programs of the garment, footwear, electronics, wood processing industries...However, this connection is not tight between the stages of production, distribution and consumption.There are currently a number of units in Dong Nai province that want to associate with foreign enterprises, but still face many difficulties, due to incommensurability in scale and technology level.

Recently, Binh Duong provincial Planning for the period of 2021-2030, a vision to 2050 was approved by the Prime Minister with a vision of regional integration. Accordingly, not only with infrastructure, in the field of industrial development, Binh Duong is also determined to innovate the growth model towards smart development, green development, based on the development of science - technology and high-quality human resources; maximize development resources, harmoniously combine external and internal forces, take digital economy, green economy, sharing economy, circular economy, creative culture as the focus of development motivation.

Currently, Binh Duong province is further planning to develop industrial parks and compounds in the direction of greening, developing a circular economy and attracting investment in high-tech industries. Binh Duong province is proactive to create a clean land fund to attract investors, which closely connects industrial parks and compounds with traffic systems, infrastructure, highways, railways and riverways that are convenient for connecting in an inter-regional direction.

According to Dr. Pham Tuan Anh, Director of Becamex IDC Smart City office, Binh Duong province is promoting digital transformation, building up an innovation ecosystem and flexibly developing between digital economy and the green economy, which is to develop green industries, clean energy, renewable energy associated with environmental protection; quickly shift industrial and production fields that use a lot of resources and have little added value to use high technology that is environmentally friendly and has high added value in accordance with the current development trend of Vietnam and the world. (to be continued)

Reported by Tieu My-Translated by Kim Tin