Directive No. 36/1998/CT-TTg on reviewing the implementation of the Government's Decree promulgating the Industrial Zone Management Regulations

DIRECTIVE

Regarding the review of the implementation of the Government Decree promulgating the Industrial Zone Regulation, Export Processing Zone Regulation, and High-Tech Park Regulation

In order to develop Industrial Zones, Export Processing Zones, and High-Tech Parks (hereinafter referred to collectively and briefly as "IZ"), according to the general regulations throughout the country, the Government has issued several Decrees promulgating the IZ Regulations, including Decision No. 322/HĐBT dated October 18, 1991, Decision No. 192/CP dated December 28, 1994, and Decision No. 36/CP dated April 24, 1997.

After several years of construction and development under the IZ Regulations of the Government, we have now created a favorable atmosphere across all sectors and levels regarding the recognition of the role of developing IZs in the process of industrialization and modernization of the country. We have established a network consisting of 60 IZs, including 56 Industrial Zones, 3 Export Processing Zones, and 1 High-Tech Park distributed widely across various regions of the country, and these IZs have begun contributing to economic growth and job creation (in 1997 and the first nine months of 1998, they contributed over 10% of the national industrial production value and export value, attracting approximately 100,000 workers). IZs contribute to urbanizing rural areas with slow development, narrowing the gap between regions; training management staff and skilled workers; protecting the environment and land use more effectively.

Although initial results have been achieved, the development of IZs in recent times has not met the demand for development, management work still faces many difficulties, the autonomy in production and business operations of enterprises has not been fully utilized, special policies for IZs are unclear. Efforts to attract investment into IZs still have many limitations. There are many reasons leading to these limitations, among which an important reason is the existing legal framework, which needs to be studied, amended, supplemented, and perfected. For this reason, at its second session in late 1997, the tenth National Assembly approved the drafting of the IZ Law, aiming to create a higher legal framework, a more comprehensive adjustment, and greater stability for the development of IZs, which the Government's authority has not been able to achieve.

The drafting of the IZ Law must primarily rely on the summary of the practical activities of existing IZs. To implement this task, the Prime Minister instructs relevant ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, government agencies, provincial people's committees, and centrally-administered city people's committees to conduct a review of the implementation of the Government's IZ operation regulations on the following contents:

1. General assessment of the operation of IZs in recent years;

2. Planning and development work for IZs;

3. Compensation and land clearance work;

4. Development of infrastructure outside the IZ fence to synchronize with infrastructure inside the IZ fence;

5. Management mechanisms and organizational structures in state management of IZ operations;

6. Implementation of administrative procedures issued by the state: Investment permits, construction management, trade, finance, banking, labor, customs, police;

7. Comments and recommendations for amending and supplementing provisions in the Government's Decree promulgating the IZ Regulations;

State management agencies at central and local levels, within their assigned functions and powers, are responsible for completing the review report on the implementation of the above contents by the end of December 1998.

The Vietnam Industrial Zone Management Board is tasked with overseeing and compiling the review reports from ministries, sectors, and localities to report to the Prime Minister.