Saigon kicks off construction of its own 'Silicon Valley'

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The construction of Saigon Silicon City Center – a study & development project – officially started this morning in Ho Chi Minh City's District 9 as part of Vietnam's push to build a start-up ecosystem.

The new development center will cover an area of over 11,000 square meters with total investment of VND480 billion ($21.5 million).

It will host workshops, research and development projects and incubate start-ups in modern science and technology.

Vice Chairman of HCMC Le Thanh Liem said the project will play an important role in promoting cooperation, transferring scientific and technological development and creating Vietnamese branded high-tech products.

Liem also expressed gratitude for the contributions made by overseas Vietnamese investors in the project. “The help of the overseas Vietnamese community in the project has shown us their aspirations and desires for the success of the city,” said Liem.

Saigon Silicon City is an ambitious project aimed at turning HCMC into a major tech hub. It is being built in the Saigon Hi-Tech Park, which is already home to 46 tech businesses including giants such as Intel and Samsung. The park's initial investment capital of about 860 billion VND ($40 million) came mainly from overseas Vietnamese investors from Silicon Valley in the U.S.

The Silicon City project plans to house over 24 enterprises, parks, a golf course, tennis courts and a variety of entertainment facilities. It is expected to attract total investment of about VND32.2 trillion ($1.5 billion) when fully occupied from 2015-2020.

Saigon Silicon City is based on Silicon Valley in the U.S., home to many of the world's biggest high-tech corporations and technology start-up companies. 

Saigon Hi-Tech Park is one of the most successful hi-tech parks in Vietnam and considered one of the city’s five most important development projects.

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