Efforts to Realize "Dual Goals" in Industrial Parks

Overcoming difficulties and challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Vinh Phuc industrial parks continue to affirm themselves as safe and attractive destinations for investors. Vietnam Business Forum's reporter has an interview with Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuong, Director of the Vinh Phuc Industrial Parks Authority, on solutions to realize the "dual goals" in Vinh Phuc province-based industrial parks. Nguyet Tham reports.

Could you please briefly introduce the main solutions adopted by the Vinh Phuc Industrial Parks Authority in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic to achieve the "dual goals" in industrial parks?

An industrial park is a place where labor-intensive industrial manufacturing factories and stakeholders in production, supply and investment promotion chains are located. Therefore, when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, industrial parks were considered the most contagious places. To effectively achieve the "dual goals" of preventing and controlling the COVID-19 pandemic and to maintain stable manufacturing operations in industrial parks, we closely followed COVID-19 prevention instructions of the Government of Vietnam and the Vinh Phuc Provincial People’s Committee: Immediately setting up the COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control working group at the Vinh Phuc Industrial Parks Authority and a cross-sector inspection team on COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control at enterprises in industrial parks; organizing many online meetings on pandemic prevention and control for enterprises; requesting enterprises to sign and fulfill commitments on COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control; establishing steering committees and workgroups to cope with COVID-19 at enterprises; and urging and monitoring them to register for COVID-19 tests for all employees and testing highly exposed people.

Besides, we worked with relevant bodies and businesses to control and capture pandemic factors relating to foreign experts, migrant workers and people returning to Vinh Phuc from pandemic areas; coordinated in controlling freight transportation; managed drivers and assistant drivers by requiring enterprises to register weekly and daily freighting plans; and cooperated with relevant agencies to inspect and urge enterprises to take measures to COVID-19 pandemic prevention. We directed, guided, inspected and urged enterprises to assess infection risks as per Decision 2194/QD-BCD dated May 27, 2020 of the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control; grasped medical quarantine of experts and workers in industrial parks returning from pandemic areas; cooperated in checking electronic health declaration by scanning QR codes; worked out scenarios and plans for COVID-19 prevention and control for local industrial parks; adapted to the new normal with the COVID-19 pandemic in industrial parks; and urged and supervised enterprises to declare COVID-19 pandemic risks on the Antoancovid.vn Map; and acted as a lead agency to handle high-risk infection cases.

We also collaborated with the Department of Health to make a list of business executives and foreign experts working for tenants in industrial parks to request the Provincial People's Committee for early vaccination against COVID-19; synthesized a list of COVID-19 tests and distributed COVID-19 vaccines to tenants in industrial parks. We timely reported COVID-19 pandemic developments in industrial parks to the Provincial People's Committee, the Provincial Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, the Department of Health and relevant agencies; proposed solutions to difficulties and obstacles in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

By effectively carrying out pandemic prevention and control measures, Vinh Phuc province-based industrial parks have achieved positive results in investment attraction and business development in the past months. Would you tell us more about these results?

With our efforts in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, business investment in industrial parks has been kept stable and developed since the beginning of the year. In the first 10 months of 2021, the local industrial parks attracted 24 new FDI projects and witnessed 21 existing projects increasing their investment funds, totaling US$930.49 million. We also licensed 12 new DDI projects and saw two existing projects adding their investment fund, totaling VND5,812.24 billion (US$260 million). As of October 15, 2021, the industrial parks housed 406 valid investment projects, including 77 DDI projects with VND20,342.44 billion (US$900 million) and 329 FDI projects with US$5,379.93 million.

In the first nine months of 2021, FDI tenants made revenue of US$4,901.48 million, up 4% year on year; earned an export value of US$3,765.18 million, up 7%; and paid VND2,770.88 billion (US$102 million) to the State Budget, up 3%. Despite facing difficulties in the way, DDI companies also endeavored to maintain stable business operations and gradually overcome difficult challenges to develop their manufacturing activity. Currently, tenants in industrial parks are employing 106,064 workers, including 72,469 local people, accounting for 68.3%.

What are your main solutions to achieve the "dual goals" in industrial parks in the coming time?

Although the pandemic has been controlled in Vinh Phuc province, we are always aware that industrial parks cannot make light of disease prevention. We regularly direct, inspect, urge and guide tenants to implement measures to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic: Further raising awareness of vigilance and self-protection against contagion risks in the community, strictly applying pandemic prevention and control measures in the new context and seriously respecting personal health protection guides recommended by health authorities.

We have continued to direct and guide tenants to keep the pandemic at bay; instruct the COVID-19 safety teams to strictly control highly exposed people from pandemic areas to take distancing or quarantine measures if necessary; urge tenants to work out response plans for safe, flexible adaptation to and effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic; and inform and encourage workers to reduce mobility to high-risk areas.

We have continued to improve physical facilities, human resources, medical equipment, drugs and biological products to expel the pandemic; regularly update pandemic developments and prevention outcomes in tenants and industrial parks; installed medicine cabinets and quick test facilities for better self-control of the pandemic; and coordinate in COVID-19 vaccinations for companies in industrial parks.

At the same time, we have continued to promote support and remove difficulties for them to apply COVID-19 prevention and control measures; send weekly freight plans to the Department of Transport and related units; and inform tenants to strictly follow COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control in the new context.

By Vietnam Business Forum