Pushing hi-tech production: Key to Hanoi’s 8% growth target

THE HANOI TIMES — Pushing production at hi-tech parks becomes essential for Hanoi to drive its economy in the second half of this year to make the economic growth target of 8% attainable.

The request was made by Nguyen Manh Quyen, Deputy Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, at the meeting of the city’s Management Board of Hi-tech Parks and Industrial Parks on July 21, where tasks for the remaining six months were discussed.

Echoing Quyen, Vu Xuan Hung, the management board’s head, proposed faster site clearance for the city’s industrial parks, especially the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park.

Hung hoped the city would allocate a larger budget to the management board to upgrade the park's infrastructure, support training and technological activities, lure a high-quality workforce, and reduce infrastructure fees.

Statistics from the management board showed that the city’s hi-tech and industrial parks attracted US$125 million worth of investment in the first half of this year.

So far, the parks have secured 844 projects, including 110 in hi-tech parks, worth a total of $13.75 billion. Of this figure, $5 billion went to the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park.

For the second half of the year, the management board expected to boost investment promotion to reach its target of attracting $450 million in investments to industrial and hi-tech parks.

The cumulative figure for the 2021–2025 period will reach an estimated $2.5 billion, up 40% from that in the 2016–2020 period.

Currently, the city has 10 operating technology and industrial parks covering around 1,348 hectares. Most zones have an occupancy rate of nearly 100%, leaving almost no empty land.

In 2024, total investment into industrial zones reached $768 million, of which half came from foreign direct investment, marking a 28% year-on-year increase.

Apart from the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park, the new Hanoi Biotech High‑tech Park is under development. Covering approximately 199 ha and costing $250 million, it aims to attract investors in biotech, automation, new materials, and IT. Land clearance is expected to be completed this year.

Drastic measures needed

To boost its industrial economy, Hanoi plans to develop additional industrial zones and clusters connected to traditional craft villages. In this regard, the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park should be shaped into a hub for high-tech research and application, a city of science and technology, where firms are encouraged to create flagship industrial products, local officials said at the meeting on July 21.

To support this vision, the city needs clear short-, medium-, and long-term development goals, with a focus on harmonizing technical and social infrastructure, workforce development, and scientific research.

Furthermore, strong coordination is required at all levels, across all sectors, and with all relevant agencies to ensure consistent leadership and implementation. At the same time, the city will boost investment promotion efforts while prioritizing administrative reforms to shorten investment approval timelines for businesses.

Hanoi’s vision for industrial economy was strengthened when the city took over the management of the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park from the Ministry of Science and Technology in November 2023 as Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Tran Sy Thanh said: “The park is poised to develop into a sci‑tech urban center, a modern educational hub with regional influence that significantly shapes economic growth.”

At the dialogue with nearly 100 investors at the park held on May 10, 2024, the city’s mayor once again reaffirmed the park’s role, stating that it should be seen as a 'green technology district' within the city, rather than just a plot of land for factories and workshops.

To make the vision achievable, Thanh signed a decision on March 4, 2024, for the development of Hoa Lac Hi‑Tech Park through 2030, with a vision to 2045, with the ultimate goal of transforming it into a hub for high‑tech research and applications and evolving it into a science and technology city.

Sharing the same idea, Vu Xuan Hung, Head of the Management Board of High-tech and Industrial Parks, said at the Hoalac Techconnect & Innovation 2025 held on May 16, 2025 that the Hoa Lac Hi‑tech Park is being built as a flagship economic model for the nation designed to foster prosperity by nurturing innovation and enterprise competitiveness. It is also developed under the model of an open – smart – green science and technology city.