After receiving approval in late October, Danang People’s Committee has accelerated the expansion of the Danang Software Park 2. Spanning over 28,500 square metres in Hai Chau district, $31.4 million is being set aside for the project.

Localities implement solutions for semiconductor projects

Under the decision, enterprises investing in IT projects in the park will be eligible for preferential policies and other incentives applied to concentrated IT zones, as the national government regulates.

Construction started in 2020. However, after completing basic construction, the scheme had to be abandoned for more than two years, mainly due to the lack of a clear legal corridor. The park is a public asset invested from the state budget, so its management, use, and exploitation require specific legal regulations.

“The city hopes to take the software park into operation at the end of 2025, and at the same time to develop three labs for training in semiconductors and AI design, all part of preparation to attract high-tech foreign investors,” said Ho Minh Ky, Chairman of Danang People’s Committee.

The city is accelerating investment promotion with the target to engaging additional semiconductor projects from several countries. It is also working with names such as Nvidia, Qualcomm, Intel, TSMC, and Qorvoo to invite them to establish manufacturing facilities here. At the same time, Danang also focuses on supporting the on-site investors who have already poured money into the city, such as Synesys, Research, and Red Global, Ky added.

Along with Danang, the northern province of Vinh Phuc is also completing infrastructure to attract foreign investors in semiconductors.

“Vinh Phuc determines that industrial development is one of the key tasks for economic growth, with electricity and semiconductors being factors to push the two-digit growth in the next years,” said Tran Duy Dong, Chairman of Vinh Phuc People’s Committee.

The province and industrial park (IP) developers plan to establish a high-tech IP, including complete technical infrastructure to welcome investors. For example, Sumitomo Group is building its transformer station to generate a stable electricity source, which is a crucial in manufacturing electronic products and semiconductors, Dong added.

The semiconductor industry is one of the key aspects the southern province of Binh Duong will focus on under its master plan towards 2030. The province is carrying out steps to build a concentrated IT zone and a high-tech IP to welcome high-tech and semiconductor investors. With the zone and park, associated with the province’s vision to become an innovation centre, Binh Duong has the potential to become a perfect investment destination for high-tech enterprises.

Several localities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Bac Ninh, and Bac Giang are also coordinating with manufacturers to train workers for the semiconductor industry, mostly in the basic stages of assembly and testing. These localities have evolved into significant production hubs for high-tech, high-value semiconductor manufacturing.

The localities have several proposals to the government to create better conditions to realise their plans for the industry.

“The government should allocate the labour force to implement national labs so that universities and localities can use these facilities for research and development activities. Besides that, the government should promulgate resolutions about preferential policies so that localities have the basis to invite interested investors. Furthermore, issuing supporting programmes for training the human force is also an urgent requirement, especially issuing standards for granting certificates for training the labour force in the semiconductors,” Chairman Dong said.

Other localities also expect that the government will issue a development strategy and a personnel development plan, along with appropriate regulations and policies, to attract the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers and designers.

According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, in 2024 Vietnam attracted approximately $18.23 billion in chips and semiconductors, up 11.5 per cent on-year.