Most meaningful investment promotion is to take good care of enterprises

On the afternoon of November 10, Mr. Nguyen Van Nen, Politburo Member, Secretary of the HCMC Party Committee, led a delegation of HCMC to inspect the situation of Covid-19 pandemic prevention and control and production resumption at the SHTP.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nen assessed that the SHTP had complied well with the requirements on Covid-19 prevention and control and expressed confidence in the solutions that the SHTP Management Board had implemented.

Taking care of businesses

According to the Secretary of the HCMC Party Committee, after more than 18 years of establishment and development, SHTP is still the leading technology park in the country. When the pandemic occurred in HCMC, the hi-tech park quickly complied with regulations on social distancing. Especially, during the implementation of Resolution No.128 of the Government and Directive No.18 of the People's Committee of HCMC, SHTP performed quite well requirements and instructions for safe adaptation, flexibility, and effective control of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nen also highly appreciated the establishment of a temporary quarantine area inside the SHTP, as well as the compliance with pandemic prevention and control measures at some enterprises that he had inspected, namely FPT Software Company and Samsung Company.

He said those were the bright spots in the Covid-19 prevention and control and production restoration in the new situation. Particularly, the SHTP Management Board had strictly followed the direction of the Standing Committee of the HCMC Party Committee, which was to take care of existing businesses in the city.

“This is the most meaningful investment promotion. Especially in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, this action is even more meaningful," Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen praised the SHTP Management Board for prioritizing the health and life of workers and laborers above all.

With that goal, the SHTP Management Board developed scenarios and plans, supported, connected, monitored, and communicated regularly with workers and laborers when they left work to return to their hometown to avoid the pandemic. SHTP-based enterprises also had paid 70 percent of wages for workers and laborers during social distancing and work stoppage. Therefore, when enterprises reopened, workers have quickly returned to work. Appreciating the application of information technology by the SHTP Management Board in managing and connecting the general database of the city to control and monitor Covid-19 risks, Mr. Nguyen Van Nen also requested the SHTP to continue to promote its strengths, especially in the field of information technology, to share and work with HCMC to effectively and efficiently carry out the economic recovery and development strategy. Over the past time, production activities in the SHTP have not been interrupted, thanks to the proactiveness and efforts of the SHTP Management Board and enterprises in Covid-19 prevention and control attached with production activities. Mr. Nguyen Van Nen said that although the total import-export turnover of the SHTP decreased, the production value still increased. It is meaningful in the context of a complicated pandemic.Stabilizing accommodation for laborers Currently, the SHTP has about 45,000 workers back to work. According to Mr. Nguyen Anh Thi, Head of the Management Board of the SHTP, enterprises are expected to restore 100 percent of operations by the end of November. The SHTP Management Board will also focus on the key tasks in safe adaptation and gradual socio-economic recovery and development, with attention on some large enterprises, such as Samsung and Nidec.

According to the SHTP Management Board, up to now, enterprises have recorded nearly 2,550 Covid-19 cases in and outside enterprises. Of which, more than 1,000 cases were from Nidec Sankyo Company, arising in early July this year. From October 1 to now, there have been 774 cases. Of which, 533 cases occurred at the factory. "From mid-October until now, the number of businesses with Covid-19 cases and the number of Covid-19 cases has increased, but the pandemic situation in the SHTP is still well-controlled," Mr. Nguyen Anh Thi affirmed and said that one of the important solutions was to promote IT application. Moreover, from November 4, SHTP has put into operation a temporary quarantine area for asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic Covid-19 cases, with a size of 100 beds that can be expanded to 200 beds, located in the hi-tech park. The investment and operating costs of the temporary quarantine area are contributed by SHTP-based enterprises. The operation of the temporary quarantine area is performed by a private medical unit. It is the first model in HCMC and Vietnam. Along with the temporary concentrated quarantine area, the fact that businesses must ensure temporary quarantine areas at enterprises has created proactiveness for them to safely adapt to the pandemic.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nen shared that he had visited workers and laborers infected with Covid-19 who were being isolated in the temporary concentrated quarantine area. He highly appreciated the SHTP Management Board for showing the sense of responsibility to take care of workers and laborers with specific actions. At the same time, he asked other units to refer to and replicate this model. According to Mr. Nguyen Van Nen, shortly, when workers from other provinces and cities return to work, enterprises must pay attention to making statistics and reviewing to vaccinate workers as soon as possible and make entries in the database for management. At the same time, the SHTP Management Board must coordinate with local authorities to control workers and laborers in the SHTP more closely to prevent and control the pandemic effectively. He reiterated that the current prime strategy of the city was social security, including social housing and accommodation for workers and laborers. Therefore, SHTP should soon use the vacant land to build accommodation for workers and laborers because when they have a stable place to live, they will feel more secure in their work and production.