Localities struggle to manage industrial clusters

HÀ NỘI — Many localities have reported difficulties in implementing a recent Government decree on the management and development of industrial clusters, said Ngô Quang Trung, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Department of Local Industry and Trade.

Speaking at a conference in Hà Nội on Tuesday to review one year of implementation of the decree, Trung said that Decree 68 has created a uniform and clear legal corridor, thus helping to attract investment for industrial development in localities.

However, Trung acknowledged that the decree has yet to be fully implemented in some localities, citing some violations in Thanh Hóa and Thái Bình provinces.

The co-ordination among departments remains poor in enforcing regulations on one-stop administrative procedures for industrial clusters, he said.

Trung noted that currently, Việt Nam has 807 industrial clusters covering more than 26,500 hectares of land, 680 of which have become operational, drawing 11,800 projects.

However, only 117 clusters have operational wastewater treatment systems, accounting for 17 per cent of the operating clusters.

Particularly, industrial clusters’ investment attraction has failed to meet the set targets, along with goals in environmental treatment and supporting infrastructure.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quốc Hưng said that the ministry will continue building a new decree amending a number of articles in Decree 68 and will submit it to the Government in the fourth quarter of 2019.

A target programme on budget support for infrastructure investment of industrial clusters in the 2020-25 period will also be submitted to the Prime Minister within the year.

Meanwhile, the ministry will also coordinate with other ministries and sectors to design and complete institutions for industrial clusters and share information in State management in the field.

Deputy Minister Hưng stressed that the ministry will also keep a close eye on the development of industrial clusters in localities from planning to construction and during their operation. — VNS