BW, ESR break ground on two joint venture projects in Bac Ninh

BW Industrial Development, a leading logistics and industrial real estate developer, and ESR Group, a leading Asia-Pacific real asset manager, have announced the construction of two double-story projects with a total gross floor area (GFA) of 270,000 sq.m in Bac Ninh, cementing BW's foothold in northern Vietnam while expanding ESR’s APAC footprint in Southeast Asia.

BW and ESR have announced two double-story projects with a total gross floor area (GFA) of 270,000 sq.m in Bac Ninh. Photo courtesy of BW

The first project, BW-ESR Nam Son Hap Linh Logistics Park, will deliver a GFA of approximately 112,000 sq.m of modern ramp-up logistics facilities for lease.

With convenient access to National Highway 1, NSHL is situated just an hour’s drive from Hanoi’s Central Business District, making it a prime delivery base for third-party logistics players, retailers, and e-commerce companies to serve Hanoi capital region.

With a clear height of 9 meters and a floor loading capacity of 2.5 to 3 tons, NSHL is designed to cater to a wide range of industries in need of high-quality warehouse facilities.

NSHL is situated just an hour’s drive from Hanoi CBD.

With a GFA of 162,000 sqm, the second project, BW-ESR Yen Phong Industrial & Logistics Park (YPE), offers two institutional-grade products: ramp-up ready-built warehouse spaces with modern specifications similar to NSHL as well as ready-built factory spaces equipped with cargo lifts.

YPE is well-placed to serve tenants from electronics and other related high-value-add sectors.

The park is located within the established Yen Phong manufacturing hub, which hosts a significant electronics cluster anchored by powerhouses such as South Korean technology giant Samsung and American semiconductor company Amkor.

Noi Bai International Airport is just a 30-minute drive away from YPE, offering customers excellent connectivity to the global supply chain.

With a clear height of up to 7 meters, floor loading of up to two tons, and varying unit sizes, the factory space is designed to accommodate customers’ various production requirements.

YPE offers two-story, ready-built warehouses with ramps and two-story, ready-built factories with cargo lifts.

NSHL and YPE are scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2025.

In addition to NSHL and YPE, BW and ESR are currently developing Project Nam Dinh Vu, a one-story, ready-built factory project with a GFA of 72,000 sq.m located in Nam Dinh Vu IP (Phase 1), Hai Phong Province. The project started construction in December 2023 and is expected to be completed in July 2024.

BW’s CEO, Lance Li, said that they have received increasing leasing inquiries for ready-built space in the north due to its strong infrastructure, established electronics and other high-tech manufacturing clusters, and its strategic geographical proximity to China.

These two projects, BW’s second and third double-story projects in Bac Ninh, serve as part of our key strategy to accelerate the expansion of BW’s footprint in the Northern Key Economic Region in response to rising customer demand.

"Being Vietnam’s leading and fastest-growing for-rent logistics and industrial space provider, we are also taking the lead in the industry to intensify land use in prime locations by building more floor area vertically, thereby making better use of scarce land resources that are in close proximity to Hanoi," he added.

Jai Mirpuri, Head of Southeast Asia at ESR Group, said that the two additional projects in Vietnam showed the continued success of our partnership with BW and our positive outlook on Vietnam’s industrial and logistics real estate.

It is a market poised for robust growth, driven by the confluence of favorable macro-economic factors and the diversification of supply chain activities into Southeast Asia.

"In line with this growing market trend, we are fully committed to driving our group’s Southeast Asia growth engine for regional scale and to delivering high-quality spaces to meet the needs of multi-national enterprises and domestic customers looking to expand their operations in this region," he said.

Vietnam attracted US$36.61 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2023, a rise of 32.1% year-on-year, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The disbursed foreign investment in Vietnam reached $6.28 billion in the first four months of 2024, the highest in five years, according to the General Statistics Office.

This year's prominent investment hotspots in the country include the northern provinces such as Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, Hanoi, and Bac Ninh.

In addition, according to the e-Conomy SEA 2023 Report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company, the digital economy in the SEA region is projected to reach around $45 billion by 2025.

E-commerce is set to drive the GMV growth of the national digital economy in the next two years. This positions Vietnam as an appealing investment destination for e-commerce and last-mile delivery-related businesses.

BW Industrial Development Joint Stock Company is Vietnam's top logistics and industrial real estate platform, managing $2.7 billion in assets across 12 key provinces.

With over 9 million square meters of industrial land, BW has secured $1 billion in equity commitments and strategic partnerships. See more information about BW here.

ESR is a leading real asset manager in Asia-Pacific, managing around $81 billion in fee-related assets. With a presence in Europe and the U.S., it offers diverse investment solutions and new eco-real estate development opportunities.

Its purpose is to manage sustainably and impactfully, considering the environment and communities as key stakeholders. It is listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.