One year after being put into operation in Cu Chi district, Ho Chi Minh City, the Ho Chi Minh City Agricultural High Tech Park (AHTP) has licensed 14 projects with a total investment capital of over VND452 billion, which registered to lease 56.8 ha out of a total 88.17 ha of rentable land. Averagely, nearly VND8 billion of investment capital has spent on a hectare of leased land.
Directing and pervading technologies
Tran Phuoc Dung, Director of AHTP, said: Functions and tasks of AHTP are unlike those of industrial parks where investors manufacture products. At AHTP, investors are responsible for researching, training and transferring technologies to people outside. Projects invested with high tech are bringing high economic results for farms and agricultural companies.
To do this, investors guide and train farmers to apply high tech to production, and then sign production contracts with farmers, thus creating an immense material zone outside the high tech park.
The technology diffusion has created a high tech production zone for Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding provinces. Improving agricultural production level by applying high tech is the target AHTP aims for. Dung said AHTP, located in Pham Van Coi commune, Cu Chi district, is designed for cultivation in the form of urban agriculture where high tech is applied for multiplying and producing orchids, other flowers, ornamental trees, vegetables, etc. AHTP directs and supports farmers to change their production structure and increase incomes.
Currently, the Tropical Investment Joint Stock Company is researching and hybridising vegetables and fruit trees. Chanh Phong Agriculture Co., Ltd is producing F1 chilli. They are guiding farmers and transferring technologies to farmers in Cu Chi and surrounding provinces. With its stunning success in high-tech application to production and economic benefits, the AHTP Management Board is asking for expanding the park. Accordingly, it hopes to build the expanded section in 61 ha in Pham Van Coi commune, 84 ha in Hao Vo commune, Can Gio district (specialised in brackish water aquaculture) and 100 ha in Binh Chanh district (specialised in poultry husbandry) to give a strong force to agricultural transformation in Ho Chi Minh City - the locomotive of the entire region.
Keeping investors away from risk
However, investors are now facing numerous difficulties with their projects. Mr Tran Phuoc Dung said among 12 investors granted investment certificates, as many as 11 investors have been granted land rent decisions but only one has signed land lease contracts because of troublesome procedures. A lot of investors abandon their projects due to complex and time-consuming procedures.
At present, seven investors are implementing their projects, including Tropical Investment Joint Stock Company (more than VND90 billion and more than 20 ha); Viet Thuy Phat Organic Vegetables Co, Ltd; Chanh Phong Agriculture Co., Ltd; Trang Sinh Mushroom Co., Ltd; Viet Quoc Thinh Co., Ltd; Truong Xuan Biotechnology Joint Stock Company; Good Life Co., Ltd. This means that seven investors have accepted risks as they have not completed necessary procedures (investment certificates, land lease agreement, land use rights certificate). Five other investors are completing required start-up procedures.
The AHTP Management Board recommended that these projects should not be considered conditional investment projects like those involving in national defence and security or sensitive industries but high-tech projects. These projects should be treated as high-tech projects governed by the Law on High Tech and receive incentives for this kind of projects.
The Board will review technologies before approving the projects and take responsibility and post-inspection. If investors fail to carry out their projects within 12 months, they will have their leased land revoked. To attract investors, the park must have suitable preferential policies. The Board proposes upgrading AHTP to the status of a national high tech park to be governed by the Law on High Tech Law and the Prime Minister’s Decision 176/QD-TTg on high tech agricultural development through 2020.
Le Minh Tri, Vice Mayor of Ho Chi Minh City, said: High tech is a leading solution to urban agriculture. The Management Board needs to consider training and attracting human resources. The city will support the development of urban agriculture, high tech application and cooperation with southern provinces. It will accelerate the construction of HCM City Biotech Centre in District 12 and the Agriculture Products Exhibition Centre (Cu Chi district) to create synchronisation, linkage and market for agricultural production in the city and other provinces.
SGGP
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