On the 22^nd of May 2018, the Government issued the Decree On Management Of Industrial Parks And Economic Zones No. 82/2018/ND-CP (Decree 82). The decree took effect on the 10^th of July 2018 and replaced a series of related decrees including Decree 29/2008/ND-CP On Industrial Parks (Decree 29), Export Processing Zones And Economic Zones; Decree 164/2013/ND-CP and Decree 114/2015/ND-CP supplement and amend Decree 29.

According to the government, after nearly ten years in force, Decree 29 no longer met the needs of the modern economy and Vietnam’s laws. The decree needed revising and supplementation in order to:

(i) Comply with the new Investment Law No. 67/2014/QH13 and Decree 118/2015/ND-CP Guidelines For Some Articles Of The Law On Investment which have changed the process and procedure to invest in industrial parks and economic zones;

(ii) Be appropriate with the current situation of new types of industrial parks appearing such as auxiliary industrial areas, eco-industrial parks and so ;

(iii) remove the disadvantage of Decree 29 such as the ineffectiveness of the Industrial Park And Economic Zone Management Unit, which was charged with carrying out the inappropriate processes for planning and establishing industrial parks.

With 7 chapters and 68 articles, Decree 82 prescribes planning, establishment and operation of, policies on, and state management of, industrial parks and economic zones. This Decree is applied to related state agencies, organizations and individuals involved in investment and business activities in industrial parks and economic zones.

This Decree addresses issues not covered in the previous decrees. It:  

1. Supplements the regulations and incentive policies on new types of industrial parks in order to create a legal basis for investors to improve the competitiveness of Vietnam's industrial zones (Chapter 4);
2. Clarifies the incentive policies applied to industrial parks and economic zones (Chapter 3). Those incentives comply with the investment laws;
3. Supplement the regulation on development of housing, social, cultural and sports works for employees working in industrial parks and economic zones in order to balance the economic development and the living quality of employees in those industrial parks and economic zones (Article 32);
4. Stipulates the methods of mobilizing capital for investment in construction of industrial parks (Article 25) and methods of mobilizing capital for investment in development of technical and social infrastructure of industrial parks (Article 26);
5. Specifies the regulation on exit, entry, travel and residence in economic zones (Article 27 and 29). In particular, inhabitants shall be prohibited from residing at industrial parks and export processing zones (Article 29.1).

Decree 82 has been effective for a few months. However, there are many points which need to be clarified or be subject to additional guidelines. Related ministries including the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Construction are expected to prepare a draft circular of guidelines in the near future.