Accordingly, the three industrial parks of Bau Dung, Phuoc Hiep, and Xuan Thoi Thuong (with the total surface area of 675ha) were approved by HCMC People’s Committee to be removed from the city planning in the official proposal to the Prime Minister in 2017. Pham Van Hai Industrial Park is added instead to ensure the total land use for industrial parks in HCMC being 7,000ha.
The current industrial zones in HCMC are gradually filled by demand, while land compensation difficulties, legal issues, outdated planning, and land lease rates have considerably delayed land clearance of new industrial parks. That unavoidably leads to investment discouragements.
Particularly, the project of Bau Dung Industrial Park in Cu Chi District with a surface area of 175ha was given to an investor in 2008. One year later, that investor withdrew from the project, leaving it disinvested until now. Most of the land is still of agricultural purpose, having about 150 houses, a cow farm, and a milk collector.
Similarly, the project of Phuoc Hiep Industrial Park also in Cu Chi District lies on a surface area of 200ha. It was under the responsibility of an investor in 2010, yet has never been carried out. There are now 235 houses on the site.
Sharing the same fate is the project of Xuan Thoi Thuong Industrial Park in Hoc Mon District. After 11 years, the 300-hectare project has still received no formal investor and cannot be launched. The land now accommodates 871 houses.
The implementation delay of the above projects has created havoc in the life of residents in those areas since they are not allowed to repair or upgrade their houses or even sell their properties. Pollution and low safety are also two major concerns.
It is, therefore, high time the municipal authorities adjusted the current industrial park planning to prioritize the zones that can carry out land clearance immediately to attract more investments and released suspended ones.
The selected land to be transformed into a promising industrial zone to replace the three suspended projects above is sited in Pham Van Hai Commune of Binh Chanh District. The 668-hectare land is to be developed into a hi-tech industrial park specially for the electricity & electronics industry, the automation mechanics industry. The factories in this park will be eco-friendly and less labor-intensive.
