[HANOI] Sembcorp Industries and longstanding partner Becamax have received approvals to develop four new industrial parks in Vietnam, the Singapore-listed energy company announced on Tuesday (Aug 29). It also unveiled plans for 10 more prospective parks.

Sembcorp and Becamax have received an investment licence to develop a new 600-hectare industrial park in Lang Son province, and obtained in-principle approvals from Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to establish three more in the Thai Binh, Binh Thuan and Ha Tinh provinces.

This will bring the total number of Vietnam-Singapore industrial parks (VSIPs) in Sembcorp’s portfolio to 17, making it the largest collaboration between the two countries.

On Tuesday, Sembcorp and Becamax also revealed plans for 10 more VSIPs across Vietnam: Binh Phuoc and Tay Ninh in the south; Khanh Hoa, Thua Thien Hue and Quang Ngai II in the central region; Thanh Hoa in the north-central region; and Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Hai Duong II and Hai Phurong II in the north.

The companies will work with the respective province leaders to conduct feasibility studies for these VSIPs. Projects which are feasible will progress to a cooperation agreement, and are subject to the award of an investment registration certificate from the central government.

To date, the VSIPs have attracted more than US$18 billion in investment capital from some 1,000 companies, and have helped to create more than 300,000 jobs, Sembcorp chief executive Wong Kim Yin said at a launch ceremony in Hanoi’s Office of Government Building.

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“The continued strength of our VSIP projects reflects the strong bilateral and economic relationship between Vietnam and Singapore,” said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who was also present at the event.

“It is my hope that the VSIP projects continue to contribute and stay relevant to Vietnam’s economic development and its industrial transformation,” he added.

PM Chinh, who also witnessed the ceremony, called the VSIP “a model and a symbol for cooperation and economic development between our two countries”.

During the event, both prime ministers also officiated a virtual groundbreaking of three previously-announced VSIPs – Can Tho, Bac Ninh II and Nghe An II. The parks will be handed over to customers from 2024, said Sembcorp.