Industrial development planning towards sustainability

Operator and factory of Phuc Sinh Son La Coffee Joint Stock Company.

Industries with advantages

Son La has great potential for renewable energy, with a dense system of rivers and streams, steep terrain for the development of large and small hydropower systems. The whole province has 60 large and small hydropower projects, of which 57 are medium and small hydropower plants with a total capacity of 3,790.05 MW. Developing hydropower plants has made an important contribution to ensuring national energy security, creating jobs for thousands of workers, and generating revenue for the local budget of more than 2,000 billion VND/year.

Mr. Mai Tong Giang, Director of Huoi Quang Hydropower Joint Stock Company - Chat village, Muong La district informed: The company has 2 factories, including: Chat village Hydropower, average electricity output of 769.7 million kWh/year; Huoi Quang Hydropower, average electricity output of 1.9 billion kWh/year. In 2025, the company strives to produce 2,293 million kWh.

Currently, the processing industry of Son La province is developing in both quantity and quality. The production scale of processing industrial establishments is expanding, gradually applying new, advanced and modern processing technologies. The processing industries mainly produce products with advantages in raw materials, participating in the export market, such as: Tea, coffee, cassava starch, sugar, milk, cement...

Production line at Coffee Processing Factory, Phuc Sinh Son La Coffee Joint Stock Company.

The whole province has 34 industrial-scale agricultural processing establishments, workshops, and factories. In addition, there are about 1,000 small-scale industrial and handicraft production establishments, such as: Moc Chau plum production; Moc Chau dried fruit; Yen Chau dried banana; Mai Son dried macadamia; Song Ma and Mai Son longan; vermicelli in Mai Son, Moc Chau, and Song Ma districts; small-scale coffee processing in Thuan Chau and Mai Son districts; seafood processing in Quynh Nhai and Muong La...

The industry maintains and grows over the years. The production index of the entire industry in 2024 increased by 28.3%, of which: Mining industry increased by 3.2%; processing and manufacturing industry increased by 5.6%; production and distribution of electricity, gas, hot water, steam and air conditioning increased by 35.6%...

Planning one step ahead

The province has two industrial parks, Mai Son and Van Ho; two industrial clusters, Moc Chau and Gia Phu, Phu Yen district, in operation. Infrastructure in industrial parks and clusters has been gradually invested, creating favorable conditions for businesses to invest in building factories.

Perspective of BHL Son La Agricultural Processing Factory.

One of the projects in Mai Son Industrial Park is the Cassava Starch Processing Factory (BHL Son La Agricultural Products Processing Joint Stock Company). Ms. Chu Thi Kim Oanh, Director of the Company, shared: The province assigned 11.4 hectares of land in Mai Son Industrial Park with basic infrastructure investment. The Company invested 250 billion VND to build a cassava starch processing factory with a capacity of 60,000 tons of starch/year. The factory has been operating since 2017, consuming cassava for farmers, creating jobs for 190 staff and workers, with an average income of 7.5 - 8 million VND/person/month. The Company is investing 245 billion VND to build the BHL Son La modified starch processing factory with a scale of 1.64 hectares, a capacity of 96,000 tons/year, expected to be completed in 2025.

To ensure sustainable industrial development, the province focuses on planning one step ahead for industrial parks and industrial clusters. According to the Son La Provincial Planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, Son La province has 5 industrial parks. Phase 2021-2030: Develop 2 industrial parks Mai Son and Van Ho. Mai Son Industrial Park has an area of ​​150 hectares. Phase I has an area of ​​63.7 hectares, basically completing essential infrastructure items at cleared locations. For Van Ho Industrial Park, with an area of ​​240 hectares, it is identified as a key economic development area in the South of the province. Currently, the province is calling for and attracting investors in investment projects to build and operate infrastructure in Van Ho Industrial Park.

Regarding the industrial cluster development planning, the period 2021-2030 includes 13 industrial clusters located in Son La city and the districts: Thuan Chau, Van Ho, Yen Chau, Mai Son, Phu Yen, Bac Yen, Song Ma, Muong La, Quynh Nhai. Vision from 2031 to 2050, develop 6 more industrial clusters: Phong Lai 50 ha, Thuan Chau district; Muong Chum 50 ha, Muong La district; Phieng Khoi 70 ha, Yen Chau district; Song Pe 27 ha, Bac Yen district; Song Khua 70 ha, Van Ho district; Muong Va 20 ha, Sop Cop district.

Production shift at BHL Son La Agricultural Products Processing Joint Stock Company.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Phong, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade, informed: In terms of planning and developing the industry, the province prioritizes attracting investment in projects to develop renewable energy industry, develop processing industry, exploit and process minerals, produce construction materials, etc. By 2030, Son La strives to become a modern agricultural processing center of the Northern Midlands and Mountains region, and a province with the highest renewable energy production output in the Northern region. At the same time, promote the application of science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation in industrial production; reduce the proportion of raw materials, increase the proportion of deep processing production according to circular, green, clean, and sustainable technology. Strive for an average growth rate of 11% or more per year in the 2021-2030 period.

Sustainable Development Solutions

Promoting potential advantages, all levels and sectors of the province continue to synchronously implement solutions to promote industrial development in Son La. In 2025, strive to put into operation Moc Chau High-tech Milk Factory Phase I; complete the Moc Chau High-tech Dairy Ecological Farm; Vinatea Company's tea processing factory... At the same time, encourage enterprises and production facilities to fully utilize their capacity, invest in expanding scale and capacity, improve techniques, and apply technology to production and business. Urge investors who have been granted mineral exploitation licenses to focus on completing basic construction items of mines, and soon put projects into exploitation on schedule.

Workers of Son La Hydropower Plant on duty.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Phong, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade, added: The Department of Industry and Trade is advising the province to direct the arrangement of enterprises and industrial production establishments to invest in production and business in industrial parks and clusters. Coordinate in developing and submitting to the Provincial People's Council to issue policies to encourage and support investment in the province, including support for investment in industrial cluster infrastructure and support for production and business establishments in industrial clusters.

In addition, advise the Provincial People's Committee to issue documents directing the implementation of the National Power Development Plan; the National Energy Master Plan. Effectively exploit the province's potential advantages, develop stable energy supply sources, focus on developing renewable energy sources: Hydropower, wind power, solar power... Invest in developing the infrastructure of the power transmission and distribution grid to ensure synchronization, advancement, and modernity. Improve the efficiency of planning, investment management, and operation of small hydropower plants.

With planning, orientation and effective solutions, Son La province's industry will have positive changes, promoting economic restructuring towards improving productivity, quality, efficiency and competitiveness.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/kinh-te/quy-hoach-phat-trien-cong-nghiep-theo-huong-ben-vung-4gz1yyoNg.html