Dinh Vu Industrial Zone: Developing with Cooperation and Teamwork

Vietnam Business Forum conducts an interview with Mr. Reggy Vermeulen - Deputy General Manager (International Sales and Marketing) of Dinh Vu Industrial Zone

 

Rent-A-Port, via its subsidiary InfraAsia, is very active in Vietnam; the most known project of Infra Asia is the Dinh Vu Industrial Zone (DVIZ) in Haiphong. This is a long term project of turning flooded marshland into a state of the art industrial zone. The reclamation work is done thanks to the technical knowhow of IPEM, another Belgian company owned by Rent-A-Port specializing in marine related engineering and land reclamation. Furthermore, since early 2009, Rent-A-Port, via its Asiatic subsidiary company InfraAsia, is actively negotiating new extensions and new port related projects in some of which DVIZ will participate. The target is to obtain, invest in and develop more than 1500 ha of additional “industrial port land” in 2010.

 

Ports and related projects are crucial for Vietnam. The need for better ports is well known. The Government takes a leadership role in this; two prime objectives of the Government are the development of the International Gateway Port at Haiphong (the Lach Huyen Port), a deep sea port, and the International Transhipment port of Van Phong Bay, taking advantage of deep water and a naturally sheltered location, to be ready to compete with Singapore and Hong Kong ports. Rent-A-Port via InfraAsia will participate in these developments. In March 2009, during the Vietnamese Prime Minister’s visit to Qatar, an MOU was signed. After serious discussion, UDC of Qatar together with Rent-A-Port AP and InfraAsia on the one hand, and DVIZ, HEZA (Haiphong Economic Zone Authority) and Vinalines, on the other hand, committed to sign an agreement for the development of offshore land in Haiphong. Furthermore, for Haiphong, we see an opportunity for a petro chemical cluster, i.e. a petro chemical centre of petroleum products storage and processing plants, for example as in the port of Antwerp, Europe, where Rent -A- Port’s headquarters is located.

 

Success requires ambition and perseverance. Developers of the Dinh Vu Industrial Zone first came to this area between sea and land, the Dinh Vu Peninsula, in 1997. Ever since, millions of cubic meters of sea sand for land reclamation have been transported and hydraulically pumped to elevate and reclaim hundreds of hectares of sea frontage land. Experienced specialists of InfraAsia, DVIZ’s main foreign shareholder, in cooperation with Haiphong Authorities, realized this vision.

 

To support the Dinh Vu project in the best possible way, Belgian and Vietnamese team members are present in the two levels of management in place in Vietnam.

First, the management team of Dinh Vu, led by John Van Praet, an experienced Belgo-Canadian Civil Engineer, with extensive experience in the management and design of utility networks and industrial parks in Canada, Ukraine, Argentina and Chile. He is working with his two deputies Mr. Carlos Nascimento and Dr Luyen.

 

The second level of management is the team of InfraAsia, responsible for marketing abroad and for negotiating of concession extensions. This team is led by Peter Broers, General Manager of InfraAsia. He was previously General Manager of the container section of the Port of Montevideo, in Uruguay. He is joined by Mr Reggy Vermeulen, Deputy General Manager of InfraAsia in charge of International Sales & Marketing.

 

The cooperation with the HPPC has intensified, and following the success of the first phase of 164 ha development, the difficulties of early development have been overcome, with the recognition of the quality of the Detailed Master Plan of the Zone’s Second phase of 377.5 ha by the Haiphong authority. The total area of the DVIZ concession today is now 541 ha.

 

The DVIZ is a strategic industrial zone that offers areas for targeted industries: Petrochemical, Heavy, and General Light Industry. Investors benefit from the following advantages:

Tax incentives, the best offered by the Government;

Direct access to Dinh Vu General port of 20,000 DWT

Direct access to the Dinh Vu Liquid Jetty up to 10,000 DWT, and to the second jetty (under construction) of up to 20,000 DWT

Excellent hinterland connections; to the future Express Way Hanoi-Haiphong; future railway connection.

Proximity to Cat Bi airport;

Effective “One Stop Shop” service supplied to investors

Proximity to the Haiphong- Lach Huyen International Gateway Port.

 

The DVIZ has a custom approach to serve its clients. Indeed, DVIZ does not have pre-cut land plots, when a client comes we develop the land based on his needs and requirements. This enables us to host clients with special needs. On the utility side, our modular approach allows us to meet nearly any demand from our customers.

 

Rent-A-Port has now more than 14 years of experience in Vietnam. During this time we have developed very good relations with the different levels of Vietnamese authorities.

In association with IPEM, we have extensive know-how in cost effective and stable land reclamation process. This is a crucial advantage if we look to the entire reclamation project that will be undertaken in the coming years in Vietnam.

 

It is also important to stress the large worldwide network that Rent-A-Port has built throughout the years. Rent-A-Port is currently partnering with some very important companies such as U.D.C. of Qatar and The Port of Antwerp.

 

Concerning our project in Dinh Vu, thanks to a staff of more than 50 persons and the collaboration of the two management teams, special attention is put to marketing DVIZ to foreign investors. Special resources are fully dedicated to serve foreign clients and support the diplomatic effort by joining the different economic missions visiting Vietnam. Thanks to our international team we can host potential clients in more than 7 different languages including French, Dutch and Russian. In addition DVIZ is one of the leaders in the so called “One Stop Shop” service. The “One Stop Shop” is a service offered to all DVIZ clients to help and support them throughout their setting up and operation process in DVIZ. The basic idea is that we take care of all the legal paperwork for the client to set up their business in Vietnam. The client just has one single point of contact, and thus can focus on his core business rather than losing time finding his way in the Vietnamese administration. This is a real plus, especially for foreign companies without experience with Vietnamese procedures and paperwork.

 

To stay competitive and assure their long term growth, Belgian companies and furthermore European companies need to invest abroad, especially in the emerging countries. Why Vietnam? Because it is a very stable emerging country, with a marine vocation. Indeed with its strategic location in Asia, Vietnam is ideal to serve as base for the neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, China, the Philippines, etc.

 

For Belgian and European investors with marine industry expertise, Vietnam is a great opportunity also because its ports and industrials zones are at the beginning of a long period of development and expansion.

 

The relationship between Belgium and Vietnam has developed very positively over the years. For example in the field of Educational/University exchange, Belgium hosts several Vietnamese students every year. Belgium has also lot to offer to Vietnam in cooperation and research in the fields of railway and subway systems. Some cooperation is underway in this area, for instance, on the new HCMC subway.

 

Concerning the marine related area, the cooperation is longstanding as well; both in the business and contracting world, as on the ground. The development of the new International Gateway Port at Lach Huyen provides opportunity for further cooperation. This huge project could benefit from Belgian marine development expertise and assistance.