Ho Chi Minh City seeking investors for $37 million Saigon Silicon City

Speaking recently at a conference to implement the development strategy of the Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) on February 14, Vo Van Hoan, Deputy Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, said, "We are completing the procedure to revoke the investment certificate for the Saigon Silicon City project due to slow implementation."

"New investors in the project should be capable enough to avoid similar delays in the future," said Hoan.

The Saigon Silicon City project started in August 2016, but several construction stages have not yet been implemented and much of the land given over to the project remains covered in grass.

Investments were made by Saigon Silicon City JSC, with a total value of about VND860 billion ($37 million). The project is to be built on an area of 52 hectares in the SHTP, with designs following the American Silicon Valley model.

According to the plan, the site will be divided into 33 separate construction projects with an area of 0.5-1.5ha per building, including four administration buildings and 24 areas for leasing high-tech manufacturing plants. The other areas will be given over to utilities and services, such as a sports centre and exhibition hall. The site will also include eight solar-powered parking garages.

When completed, the Saigon Silicon City project will be a smart city with infrastructure and utilities to attract domestic and foreign businesses operating in the high-tech field.

However, since the groundbreaking ceremony, progress has stalled. In October 2021, the SHTP Management Board made a proposal to Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to revoke the investment certificate of the project.

Figures from the SHTP Management Board released state that up to now, 162 projects have been granted investment certificates, of which 111 projects are operating with 49 projects not yet up and running.

On April 29, Vietnam’s leading internet enterprise VNG Corporation held the “Vietnam Internet Ecosystem” event in the Silicon Valley in the US' California to connect and seek co-operation opportunities with US firm Vietnam Resource & IT Development Group.

500 Startups Vietnam today announced that it will bring 500 Startups’ Silicon Valley accelerator curriculum to Vietnam in 2019 in partnership with Korean multimedia retailer GS Shop.

The initiative to narrow the distance between startups and the government have seen positive results thanks to the government’s efforts to issue suitable policies as well as the huge support from Vietnam Silicon Valley. Van Anh reports.