The VTC Online Telecommunications Company will invest US$83.3 million to build a software park in the central province of Nghe An, helping to promote the development of the industry there.

Phan Dinh Trac, chairman of the province, told the Daily on the phone that the provincial authorities had licensed the project which he believed would spur the software industry.

This is the biggest project that has been approved in the software industry in Nghe An and it will help to create more jobs for local residents, particularly young people, he said.

VTC will begin work on the five-hectare software park in Ha Huy Tap in Vinh City in November this year. It is scheduled to be up and running by 2011.

When the park is in place, according to the investor, production facilities there will generate 10,000 jobs and fetch around US$13-20 million in sales revenue.

Phan Sao Nam, director of VTC, said in a statement that the project would focus on constructing modern infrastructure to provide facilities for human training for the IT sector and develop digital content projects.

VTC will complete basic infrastructure in the first two years to accommodate IT training enterprises.

Major software and hi-tech park projects that have got under way in the year to date include the US$1.2 billion Thu Thiem hi-tech park and the US$650 million Viet Nhat software park in District 2, HCMC.

The other software parks are the 63-hectare Hoa Lac in Hanoi, six-hectare FPT in Danang and seven-hectare expansion of Quang Trung in HCMC.

The HCMC Computer Association reported that the country would see more software park constructions up to 2010 because the industry is growing fast with annual growth of 30-40%.

Phi Anh Tuan, deputy chairman of the association and director of the HCMC branch of CMC Corporation, told the Daily that the software park development would create good infrastructure and a convenient business environment for enterprises in the IT industry.

A report by the association says the total investment capital for software park projects in the 2006-2008 period is VND2 trillion, four times higher than in 2000-2005.

The Ministry of Information and Communication says the software industry is looking to attain US$800 million in revenue from software development and services by 2010, 40% of it from software exports.

Source: Saigon Times