The Hai Phong Port and Logistics Symposium is one of the activities under the ongoing Vietnam-Belgium cultural and economic exchange festival, held from October 25-27 in the city.
Delegates at the event were introduced about the overall situation of logistics in Hai Phong, as well as seeking for business opportunities there. Businesses and investors got a chance for broad discussions about investment and business opportunities in Haiphong, where they have seen rapid improvements in infrastructure facilities in recent years.
Participants also shared how to use renewable energy into the logistics system, optimise logistics costs and how to make Hai Phong a logistics centre of Vietnam.
Hai Phong Municipal People's Committee Vice Chairman, Nguyen Xuan Binh, said that the seaport city acts as the largest gateway to the sea in Northern Vietnam. Because of its important role, the Government and the city’s authorities have always focused on developing infrastructure, including logistics systems. In the coming time, the direction of Vietnam is to develop the city into a modern and developing city to serve as a logistics hub for Vietnam and the surrounding region that is always ready to welcome investors to enter into co-operation with the authorities.
Hai Phong is also always in the top 5 provinces and cities in Vietnam leading in attracting foreign direct investment, helping it become an ideal investment destination for foreign investors as well as major domestic ones.
In the future, Hai Phong is oriented to develop into a modern logistics centre of the country and the region, Binh informed, affirming that Hai Phong always welcomes investors to come and cooperate with the city.
During the conference, representatives from various well-known organisations such as real estate consulting firms, the European Business Association in Vietnam, and logistics firms have given presentations, providing a diverse and multi-dimensional view of the status of the city's logistics industry with pointers on developing Haiphong into the logistics centre of Vietnam. The topics of the presentations ranged from “Haiphong – Vietnam's gateway to the world” and “A new milestone in the relations between Vietnam and the EU” to “Supply chain – from the perspective of an infrastructure developer” and “Opportunities in the warehousing sector in Lach Huyen Port area”.
Paul Jansen, Ambassador of Belgium in Vietnam, emphasised the strong partnership between Belgium and Haiphong and its potential to encourage investment and trade in the context of the newly signed EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, “The conference is one of the most important events during the Vietnam-Belgium cultural and economic exchange festival."
During the conference, HATECO and Infra Asia Investment Ltd. (IAI) from Hong Kong, along with shareholders of DEEP C Industrial Zone, have signed a partnership bill to expand the development activities of the industrial zone in Quang Ninh. Within the context of this bill, the two companies expressed their intention to co-invest and partner in the project to develop Bac Tien Phong Industrial Zone (DEEP C Quang Ninh II), one of the industrial zones of DEEP C Industrial Zone Group.
Stephen Wyatt, representing Jones Lang LaSalle Vietnam, said that Hai Phong has advantages in transportation infrastructure, thanks to its favourable international airport, deep-water port and convenient road systems, which play an important role for logistics development.
DEEP C Industrial Zone was established in 1997 in Haiphong under a partnership between Rent-A-Port corporation from Belgium and the city’s authorities. With more than 22 years of development, DEEP C has turned Dinh Vu-Cat Hai peninsula from a remote swampland into a chain of industrial zones of the largest size in Vietnam, with more than 3,000 hectares of land area for rent, attracting more than 100 projects with a total investment of approximately $3.5 billion, creating more than 10,000 jobs.
DEEP C is also a pioneer in developing standardised industrial zones, focusing on a sustainable economy in manufacturing. DEEP C Industrial Zone has contributed greatly to the economic and social development of Haiphong, at the same time strengthening the relationship between Belgium and Vietnam.
