City needs to build multistory plants at new IPs

HCM City needs to develop multistory plants at its new industrial parks to make the most of scarce land and leave space for supporting facilities, suggested an official of the HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (Hepza).

Ngo Anh Tuan, vice chair of Hepza, called on the Ministry of Construction and the city government to approve a scheme for building high-rise factories in those IPs that the city is developing. Such a scheme will help increase the vertical structural density and thus leave more land for greenery and service facilities in IPs such as stores, boarding houses, clinics and entertainment places for workers, said Tuan.

The city is currently developing seven more industrial parks in outlying districts like Cu Chi, Hoc Mon and Binh Chanh besides its 13 operational zones where little land is left for greenery and services for workers.

If the city could develop seven new industrial parks with multistory plants, estimated at up to five or six stories, the efficiency of industrial land use would remarkably increase.

“I think the Ministry of Construction should create mechanisms for infrastructure developers of new industrial parks to build multistory factories, instead of the present structure of only one or two stories,” he said.

According to Hepza, the total area of industrial land at the operational zones in the city is some 1,600 hectares, with up to 1,240 hectares for workshop construction. Some 77 percent of such space has been rented by tenants, who are employing 250,000 workers.

However, the developers of only two export processing zones and one industrial parkhad already built boarding houses for workers, while the remaining ones cannot develop facilities for workers because of land scarcity.

Tuan gave the example of Hepza and Saigon Co.op coordinating to seek empty land for building Co.opMart supermarkets at all the 13 zones, but the store chain operator finds it difficult to secure space for its retail business.

The trading group is building one supermarket at Linh Trung 2 Export Processing Zone in Thu Due District to serve workers. The store is to be opened in early September this year.

Tags: Vietnam Infrastructure, Vietnam Industrial Parks