SAIGON SOUTH SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE PROPOSED

By Ngoc Huong

(SGT-HCMC) The Phu My Hung Corporation has asked the government to establish a special economic zone (SEZ) in Saigon South in HCMC on a pilot basis said a company source.
The proposed zone, whose development Phu My Hung wants to share in, could have an initial area of 6,150 ha, and include the Tan Thuan EPZ, the Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park and the town. Mr. Hua Quoc Vinh, assistant to the corporation’s management said yesterday.
He told the Daily that, "the zone could later be expanded to the city’s suburban district of Can Gio and to the Mekong Delta provinces of Long An to pave the way for the city to develop toward the Eastern Sea".
The project has been proposed for consideration, confirmed Mr. Le Xuan Trinh, chairman of the Vietnam Industrial Park & Export Processing Zone Authority, which has been assigned to study an SEZ mode for Vietnam.
The country has embarked on a pilot scheme to set up a number of such zones in a move to formulate a more liberal and independent administrative mechanism that can help attract foreign investment.
In late May, senior officials from the Central Economic Board went to Taiwan to exchange experiences in developing SEZs in this territory.
HCMC’s committee for SEZ research also sent a delegation to China to make fact- finding tours of SEZs in some cities and provinces.
State agencies have sought advice from experts to select the most appropriate SEZ model for Vietnam.
Mr. Lawrence S. Ting, chairman of Taiwan’s Central Trading & Development Co., a big foreign investor in the country has written to Mr. Trinh giving his opinions on the establishment of the zone in the city.
Over the past nine years, US$1 billion has been invested in the Tan Thuan EPZ and the Saigon South urban town project, so this is a foundation for the establishment of the SEZ, he said.
He added after the Hiep Phuoc IP, the Soai Rap Port and a program to carry fresh water from Tien River to the town are completed. Saigon South will be an ideal place for constructing an SEZ.

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