The current legal framework for industrial park investment projects has exposed gaps in authority, friction in phased-investment rules and unclear priority-land allocation — adjustments are needed to shorten implementation timelines for investors.
Authority gap of the industrial park management board
Decree 35/2022/ND-CP and the 2020 Environmental Protection Law do not currently delegate enough authority to IP management boards for environmental procedures. Investors must contact provincial natural-resources agencies separately, extending licensing timelines and creating early-stage bottlenecks.
A delegation circular has been drafted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment since June 2023, but has not yet been issued. The delay continues to force investors to navigate multiple administrative levels for the same dossier.
Inadequacies in phased investment regulations
Under Decree 35/2022/ND-CP, industrial parks over 500 hectares must be split into phases capped at 500 hectares, each requiring its own investment-approval process. Compensation costs rise between phases and tenant selection across phases becomes uncertain — blocking unified financial planning across the full project life cycle.
Land allocation for priority groups in industrial parks
Current rules require a minimum of 5 hectares or 3% of total industrial land to be reserved for SMEs, supporting industries, innovation enterprises and other entities eligible under Article 15 of the Investment Law. The interplay between the absolute number and the percentage is unclear, and no holding period is specified — creating friction for both infrastructure developers and downstream tenants.
A formula and regulations to remove obstacles
Author Dinh Tan Phong (Can Tho Socio-Economic Institute) proposes a unified approval process for projects over 500 hectares; an explicit priority-land formula (5 hectares for parks under 500 hectares, 3% for parks above); and a 3-year holding period before priority land may be leased to other tenants. A framework along these lines would give IP management boards more authority and shorten execution timelines for businesses.
Source: The Saigon Times – Legal bottlenecks for industrial park investment projects.
