Hai Phong breaks through, leading the nation’s industrialization and modernization drive

With its strategic position on the East Sea and role as an international gateway, Hai Phong was invested in by the French colonials from the late 19th century as a key economic hub. Yet this process was never aimed at sustainable or independent growth but solely to serve the colonial machine.

The August 1945 Revolution not only reclaimed the national independence but also broke the chains that had bound Hai Phong’s development. Through years of resistance and then reconstruction in peacetime, cement, engineering, and shipbuilding factories in Hai Phong were built and operated by the hands and intellect of the Vietnamese people.

The city’s real transformation, however, came with a wave of renewal in 1986, which brought the first breezes of market liberalization to Vietnam. Hai Phong was among the pioneers, quickly opening its doors, attracting investment, and shaping a new growth model, with the establishment of Nomura industrial park in the early 1990s as a pioneering landmark.

Through open-door policies and foreign direct investment attraction, the city quickly seized opportunities to restructure its industry toward modernity, sustainability, and value-added production.

The first two decades of the 21st century (2001–2020) marked a period of strong, breakthrough development for Hai Phong, with many significant achievements. The city consistently maintained impressive industrial growth, becoming one of the country’s economic locomotives.

Particularly from 2015 to 2025, Hai Phong’s GRDP growth has consistently remained in double digits. Industry has expanded rapidly in a high-tech, modern, and environmentally friendly direction. Industry has become the backbone of the city’s economy, affirming Hai Phong’s position as a major industrial hub with strong competitiveness nationwide.

The city’s industrial leap is underscored by persuasive figures, especially in recent years, with remarkable advances in scale, structure, and quality.

Speaking at the Hai Phong Investment Promotion Conference on July 15, Chairman of the city People’s Committee Le Ngoc Chau stressed: “Hai Phong is the only locality to have maintained double-digit growth for 10 consecutive years. The city remains one of the region’s top investment destinations, with more than 1,900 FDI projects from 44 countries and territories, with total registered capital exceeding 48 billion USD, accounting for nearly 10% of the nation’s cumulative FDI. Domestic investors have also made worthy contributions, with major projects from leading brands such as VinGroup, SunGroup, Kinh Bac, Hoa Phat, and Geleximco, with investment in projects approved in just the first six months of 2025 exceeding 200 trillion VND,”

By early August 2025, Hai Phong had had a total of 42 industrial parks covering more than 11,000 ha. The city also has 79 industrial clusters with more than 3,800 ha in area. Numerous “big shots” with advanced technologies have chosen Hai Phong as their destination, investing in high value-added fields such as electricity, electronics, manufacturing, supporting industries, and high-tech products.

Many products made in Hai Phong are now deeply integrated into global value chains, serving not only the domestic market but also Europe, the US, Japan, and other demanding markets. From a hub of heavy industry, Hai Phong is transforming into a center of smart industry.

The city’s impressive figures on investment, growth, and economic restructuring are not a matter of chance but the outcome of a deliberate, synchronous, long-term industrial development strategy.

Today, Hai Phong is not only a major industrial hub but also a model of dynamic, modern, and sustainable development. From a past constrained by colonial subjugation, the city has risen to become a premier destination for strategic investors worldwide.

HUYEN TRANG