Step by step expansion of production

In 1975, the country was completely unified, opening an era of independence, peace and development.

However, Hai Duong, like many other localities in the North, emerged from the war with many losses, outdated infrastructure, and scattered, small-scale production.

1975 was the year that ended the 2-year plan for economic recovery and development according to Resolution No. 22-NQ/TW of the Party Central Committee, and at the same time was the first year of implementing the Resolution of the 1st Provincial Party Congress. By 1976, the first year of implementing the 5-year State Plan 1976 - 1980, in response to the requirements of the production reorganization campaign, on the basis of the targets set in agriculture, the province promoted the development of local industry.

Factories and enterprises in the province such as Hai Duong Porcelain Factory, Hai Duong Milling Factory, Hai Duong Grinding Stone Factory, Pump Manufacturing Factory, Packaging Enterprise were invested to expand both in scale and machinery equipment. Notably, in early 1984, Hoang Thach Cement Factory in Minh Tan Commune (Kinh Mon) after more than 7 years of construction shipped the first bags of cement. This was one of the largest capacity cement factories in Vietnam at that time.

At the end of the period 1975 - 1980, the province's industry had many changes. The total value of industrial output increased from 30,906 million VND in 1975 to 136,459 million VND in 1980. Industries with high growth rates were mechanical engineering, construction materials, and food processing.

In the years before the renovation, Hai Duong's industry and handicraft sector proactively linked up economically with enterprises in the central and neighboring provinces. The total value of industrial and handicraft output in the period 1981 - 1985 increased by an average of 6% per year, of which the state-owned sector increased by 2.5% and handicraft increased by 6.6%. However, the industrial development rate was still slow, and goods were poor and of low quality.

Since 1986, when the renovation process began, Hai Duong's economic development thinking gradually changed. The province began to focus on industrial production, gradually improving capacity, taking advantage of and exploiting the province's existing potential and advantages. A number of industrial clusters along National Highway 5 were gradually formed.

In particular, on December 29, 1987, at the 2nd Session of the 8th National Assembly, the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam was passed. In the following years, from a number of small-scale foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with a total registered capital of less than 10 million USD, Hai Duong gradually proved to be an attractive destination for international investors when gradually receiving dozens of other FDI projects with a total capital of hundreds of millions of USD.

Integration and FDI attraction

One of the FDI enterprises investing very early in Hai Duong during the international integration period is the US Ford Motor Group with the Ford Hai Duong Factory project.

Starting with an assembly plant built on an area of ​​over 30 hectares in Lai Cach town (Cam Giang), with an investment capital of over 100 million USD, after nearly 30 years, Ford Vietnam has always been an FDI enterprise with a very high contribution to the provincial budget. In 2024 alone, this enterprise contributed over 4,634 billion VND, the highest among enterprises.

In the period 2006 - 2010, FDI capital flow into Hai Duong reached nearly 1,970 million USD, including newly registered capital and increased capital, with a total of 151 projects. During this period, the number of FDI projects expanding production and increasing capital continuously increased.

In 2006 alone, a special year with FDI capital reaching 663.6 million USD, nearly equal to the total FDI capital of the previous 10 years combined.

Investing in Hai Duong since 2006, Iriso Vietnam Electronics Co., Ltd. in Tan Truong Industrial Park (Cam Giang) has always maintained a steady revenue growth rate over the years. As a result, the current income of employees has increased to an average of 9.5 million VND/person/month, 35.71% higher than 5 years ago.

“We were right to choose Hai Duong as our investment location. The provincial government and relevant agencies have clearly shown their support for the business community in general and the FDI sector in particular. Problems with traffic infrastructure, power sources, and administrative procedures have been listened to and resolved, contributing significantly to the overall success of our business,” said Mr. Tsuzuranuki Hiroshi, General Director of Iriso Electronics Vietnam Co., Ltd.

Hai Duong's journey of integration and investment attraction in recent years has recorded positive results. Of the 32 industrial parks approved for development by 2030, 18 have been established, with a total planned area of ​​nearly 3,000 hectares. 12 of these industrial parks, with a total area of ​​nearly 1,700 hectares, have invested in building technical infrastructure, attracting secondary investors.

Accumulated to April 2025, the whole province has 426 secondary investment projects in industrial parks, of which 332 are FDI projects, with a total registered investment capital of about 6.7 billion USD, 94 domestic investment projects (DDI), with a total registered capital of about 20,234 billion VND, equivalent to about 784 million USD (according to the conversion price on April 14).

The province has established 60 industrial clusters with a total area of ​​over 3,050 hectares. Of these, 32 clusters have attracted secondary investors with over 400 projects, total registered capital of about 10,000 billion VND, and an occupancy rate of over 80%.

Hai Duong is one of the leading provinces in attracting FDI capital in the country. In the near future, Hai Duong is expected to merge with Hai Phong City. This merger can create larger industrial value chains, such as automobile manufacturing, mechanics, electronics, information technology, processing or a series of other high-tech industrial projects.

A dynamic, sustainable, and modern industrial zone will soon be formed, helping the province continue the story of industrial development in the era of national growth.