Thai Nguyen has emerged as one of the key industrial and manufacturing investment hubs in northern Vietnam. With its strategic location within the Hanoi–Hai Phong–Quang Ninh economic corridor and as a gateway connecting the Northern Midlands and Mountainous Region with the Red River Delta, the province holds significant advantages in attracting investment.
The province’s transport infrastructure has been gradually improving—particularly with major national highways and the Hanoi–Thai Nguyen Expressway—considerably reducing travel time to the capital and seaports. As foreign investment flows continue to shift strongly toward Vietnam, Thai Nguyen has gained further attention thanks to the presence of large technology corporations such as Samsung and the development of a robust industrial supply chain ecosystem. Consequently, the demand for ready-to-use industrial land within local industrial parks (IPs) has been rapidly increasing.
However, site clearance remains a major bottleneck. If infrastructure projects in industrial parks cannot receive cleared land on schedule, Thai Nguyen risks missing opportunities to attract high-quality foreign investors—especially as neighbouring provinces such as Bac Ninh, Hung Yen, Hai Phong, and Quang Ninh are actively competing with available industrial land and better infrastructure readiness.
The Provincial People’s Committee recently held a meeting to review compensation progress, address difficulties in land clearance and resettlement, and accelerate the implementation of infrastructure projects in local industrial parks.
According to the Management Board of Industrial Parks (MBIP), Thai Nguyen currently has 15 industrial infrastructure projects under development: seven funded by the state budget (managed by the MBIP) and eight financed by private capital. Most projects are still in the compensation and clearance stages, progressing unevenly and facing numerous challenges.
Key examples include:
• Song Cong II Industrial Park (Phase I, 250 ha): 236.1 hectares cleared and 234.2 hectares handed over to the investor.
• Thanh Binh Industrial Park (Phase I): land compensation and resettlement completed for 14.09 out of 14.10 hectares.
• Song Cong II Industrial Park (Phase II): compensation plans approved for 120.8/120.72 ha (approx. 100.07%), payments and handovers completed for 119.3 ha (98.82%), and land recovery decisions issued for 120.27 ha (99.6%).
• Yen Binh 3 Industrial Park: land survey and measurement completed for 174.49/295.34 ha; compensation paid to 94 households covering 6.85 ha, with advance payments made to 7 households for 1.76 ha.
Nevertheless, other projects continue to face obstacles in compensation and clearance due to multiple reasons: some households have refused to declare land ownership or disagree with compensation plans; others await resettlement areas that are either insufficient or lack completed infrastructure.
In response, Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People’s Committee, Ms. Nguyen Thi Loan, instructed communes and wards to promptly finalise their general planning, while relevant departments and investors must coordinate to resolve difficulties and speed up land clearance and resettlement—identifying these as key priorities for industrial investment attraction.
By August, the province aims to complete the planning of pending resettlement areas. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment has been assigned to propose specific land allocations for each locality. Investors are required to proactively arrange and advance funds to the Land Fund Development Centre for compensation payments. Projects with multiple secondary investors—such as Yen Binh 2, Yen Binh 3, and Song Cong II (Phase II)—will receive priority in land clearance and resettlement planning.