On July 22, Mr. Tran Van Lau - Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of Can Tho City and Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa - Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee chaired a working session with departments, branches and VSIP Can Tho Joint Stock Company (abbreviated as VSIP) to listen to the progress report on the implementation of the Vinh Thanh Industrial Park Infrastructure Investment and Business Project (phase 1) and related projects invested by VSIP.
According to the investor's report, up to now, there have been 4 investors committed to implementing the project at VSIP Can Tho, of which BESTWAY Company with a total capital of 300 million USD has officially signed. The remaining 3 investors, with a total capital of about 100 million USD, are waiting to complete the procedures for granting Land Use Rights Certificates (LURCs) to sign.
Regarding site clearance, the total remaining unpaid cost is more than 28 billion VND. However, the arrangement of resettlement land outside the field has not been completed because the resettlement area has not completed its infrastructure. There are 132 households that have not been approved to rent temporary houses because they have not been allocated resettlement land.
VSIP also proposed to convert the form of land lease from one-time payment for the entire lease term to annual land rental payment, in order to reduce financial pressure and increase flexibility in project implementation.
Regarding this content, Mr. Ngo Thai Chan, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Can Tho City informed that according to Clause 2, Article 30 of the 2024 Land Law, investors have the right to choose the form of land rent payment. On that basis, the Department issued Official Letter No. 76 to the City People's Committee proposing to approve the policy of allowing conversion. When the City People's Committee agrees, the Department will provide specific instructions for investors and localities to carry out procedures for granting land use right certificates, striving to complete them in August 2025.
Another important content mentioned is the pilot use of sea sand for filling at the VSIP project. According to Mr. Chan, the People's Committee of Can Tho City (old) had previously sent a document to the Prime Minister asking for permission to use sea sand. The three relevant ministries (agriculture and Environment, Construction and Science and Technology) have all agreed to allow a pilot program with many other technical conditions.
Currently, VSIP proposes to use about 300,000 m3 of sand on an area of 15 hectares. The Department of Agriculture and Environment is still reviewing to determine the appropriate volume and location before submitting to the City People's Committee for approval.
Regarding the handover of sea sand mines without auction to VSIP, Mr. Chan said that according to the provisions of Decree 193, this proposal is not eligible because the VSIP project is not an important national project, emergency public investment or national target project. However, VSIP can still buy sea sand from commercial mines to serve the pilot while waiting for the special mechanism.
Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the People's Committee of Can Tho City Tran Van Lau requested departments and branches to urgently complete the resettlement area, determine prices and announce them to people, especially households that have received compensation. At the same time, many forms of temporary housing support such as house rental or policy support are flexibly applied to help 132 households soon stabilize their housing.
Regarding the proposal to pilot the use of sea sand as filling material in industrial parks, Mr. Tran Van Lau requested that the quality of the material, in accordance with technical standards, and environmental safety, should be studied. The city will consider the next steps based on specific proposals from departments, branches and investors.
Mr. Lau also requested VSIP to speed up the progress of building industrial park infrastructure, complete legal documents soon, and ensure that the infrastructure is qualified to attract secondary investors. The goal in 2025 is for industrial parks to attract at least 4 secondary investors.
VSIP Can Tho Industrial Park project in Vinh Trinh commune, with a scale of 293.7 hectares (phase 1), total investment capital of more than VND 3,717 billion, started on September 9, 2023. To date, the infrastructure progress has reached about 60%. Phase 1A (60ha) has been treated and is being leveled. The wastewater treatment plant (6,000 m3/day and night) started construction in the first quarter of 2025, expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2025. The electricity, water, and fire protection systems are being deployed synchronously, ready to operate by the end of the third quarter of 2025.
