Four of the new IZs will be in the southern district of Long Thanh where construction of a mega airport is set to begin Tuesday, and the remaining four will be in Long Khanh Town, the southeastern district of Cam My, the southwestern district of Nhon Trach and the central district of Trang Bom.

The locations are demarcated in the province’s land use plan for the next decade. The new IZs cover a total area of over 4,300 hectares.

The three existing industrial zones that will be expanded by a total of 745 hectares are Long Khanh and Dau Giay in the central district of Thong Nhat, and Tan Phu in the northern district of the same name.

Dong Nai is one of several southern provinces neighboring HCMC that are becoming major industrial localities as foreign companies shift their production to Vietnam.

In the third quarter last year, rents in southern industrial parks rose 20-30 percent year-on-year to $300 per square meter in Ho Chi Minh City, $200 in Long An and over $150 in Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Ba Ria – Vung Tau provinces, according to a report by real estate consultancy CBRE.

Occupancy rates were over 80 percent at these places, it said, adding that the increasing demand from domestic and foreign investors in the sectors of e-commerce and logistics was the main reason for the rising rents.

Dong Nai ranked seventh nationwide in the value of foreign direct investment pledges last year at over $928 million, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.