The park will be the first in the nation dedicated to support industries, with up to 50 Japanese-invested small businesses expected to ultimately take up residence in the park.

Yesterday’s groundbreaking ceremony also included the signing of a co-operation agreement between the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Japan-based Viet Nam Economics Institute, the Bac Ninh People’s Committee and park investor Kinh Bac Urban Development Co.

Under the agreement, the institute would liaise with firms in Japan in the fields of auto parts and hi-tech industries as possible tenants in the park, said a representative of the Kinh Bac company.

Insufficient support industries were a drag on the province’s ability to attract foreign investment, said People’s Committee chairman Pham Van Tuy, who expected the new park would promote the province to Japanese enterprises which might invest in Viet Nam once the global economy recovered.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Kinh Bac Urban Development Co chairman Dang Thanh Tam confirmed that Japanese enterprises which had a high interest in investing in Viet Nam had also expressed concerns about the nation’s inadequate support industries.

Stronger support industries would help Japanese firms not only reduce production costs but would enhance the competitiveness of Viet Nam’s exports, Tam said.

Phan Dang Tuat, head of the ministry’s Industries and Strategies Policy Institute, said the development of support industries was a good way for the nation’s industrial sector to integrate into regional and global economies.

Japan, which has built over 200 support industry parks, was the best possible partner for developing Viet Nam’s support industries, Tuat said, urging the establishment of more support industry parks nationwide.

Three such parks were in the planning stages for Kinh Bac’s system of industrial zones, he noted.

The governments of Viet Nam and Japan have agreed on a plan for development of support industries in Viet Nam, as part of the second and third phases of the Japan-Viet Nam Joint Initiative.

Under the plan, Viet Nam would develop support industries through 2020 in the fields of electronics and information technology, garment and shoe making, auto parts and manufacturing.

(Source: VNS)