Less than one-third of Hanoi manufacturers still operating

By Anh Minh August 30, 2021 | 11:34 pm PT

A welder works in a concrete factory in Dong Anh District, Hanoi in July 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Hong Chieu

Nearly 30 percent of Hanoi’s industrial park business are operating while the rest have shut down due to social distancing.

As of mid-August, 1,077 companies out of 3,600 were operating. They were either imposing the stay-at-work model or restricted staff to commuting between home and work alone, according to a report by the city’s department of industry and trade.

These companies, however, were recording rising costs, lower productivity and falling revenues.

On average they have scaled down production by 20 percent from before the social distancing order, which also affected worker incomes.

The department proposed workers in industrial parks be prioritized for vaccination to prevent a break in the supply chain.

Hanoi has 70 industrial parks. The city had earlier planned to establish 10-15 new ones this year.

The capital has imposed a citywide social distancing order starting July 24. It has recorded 3,436 local Covid-19 cases since the fourth coronavirus wave hit the country late April.