Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park may expand gross land area by 22.5%

THE Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park is looking to expand its gross land area by 22.5 per cent across two Vietnam provinces.

Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park JV Co (VSIP), a joint-venture between the two governments that oversees the park, signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) on Wednesday to explore two new expansions in the provinces of Binh Duong, near Ho Chi Minh City, and Bac Ninh, near Hanoi, a release said on Wednesday.

These will potentially add 1,500 hectares to its 6,660-hectare gross land area, which now spans Binh Duong, Bac Ninh, Hai Phong, Quang Ngai, Hai Duong and Nghe An provinces.

The signing of the MOUs was witnessed by Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Trung Hoa Binh.

Founded in 1996 under a landmark agreement between the prime ministers of Vietnam and Singapore, VSIP has thus far attracted investment from 630 companies with total investment of US$9 billion.

It is 49 per cent held by Vietnam state-owned enterprise Becamex IDC Corporation. The remaining 51 per cent is held by a Singapore consortium led by Sembcorp Development. Sembcorp holds 92.9 per cent shareholding in the Singapore consortium.