Nguyen Danh Cong – Partner
Nguyen Quang Thai – Junior Associate
On 01 August 01 2026, the Government issued Decree No. 303/2026/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 32/2024/ND-CP dated 15 March 2024, on the management and development of industrial clusters (“Decree 303”). Decree 303, taking effect on 15 September 2026, establishes a detailed legal framework aimed at reshaping industrial cluster (“IC IC“) models and creating a basis to attract private capital, particularly in the fields of innovation and high technology. Several notable contents are as follows:
1. Supplementing and clarifying the definitions of new industrial cluster models
Unlike the previous regulations (which only differentiated between normal ICs and craft village ICs), Decree 303 for the first time clearly defines 04 new IC models through quantitative and qualitative criteria. Accordingly:
- Specialized IC is an IC dedicating at least 60% of its industrial land area to investment projects within the same industry or trade;
- Supporting IC is an IC dedicating at least 60% of its industrial land area to projects manufacturing supporting industry products;
- High-tech IC is an IC allocating at least 30% of its industrial land area to projects of research, production, and application of high technologies; and
- Eco-IC is an IC aiming at sustainable development and the circular economy, where organizations and individuals implement cleaner production, use resources efficiently, and engage in industrial symbiosis to optimize or reuse raw materials, energy, and waste.
The codification of these specialized IC models demonstrates a trend toward specialization and greening in the Government’s orientation for industrial infrastructure development, providing a solid legal basis for localities to select investment models that suit their unique competitive advantages.
2. Expanding the beneficiaries of incentives and detailing the investment attraction strategy
Decree 303 has comprehensively restructured Article 3 of Decree 32/2024/ND-CP, clearly categorizing 04 groups of industries and 03 groups of subjects prioritized for attraction into ICs. Regarding the industry orientation, Decree 303 focuses on 04 strategic groups:
- Platform and traditional industries group: agricultural processing and manufacturing; mechanical engineering; supporting industries; textiles and garments, leather and footwear;
- High-tech and spearhead industries group: information technology, telecommunications; electronics; renewable energy; digital technology; automation; high-end equipment; new materials, and biotechnology;
- Environmental protection, cottage industries, and auxiliary services group: waste treatment/recycling, water source restoration. Notably, auxiliary services (warehousing, transportation, packaging, machinery maintenance) are permitted to operate but are strictly limited, not exceeding 10% of the total IC area; and
- Industries heading toward sustainable development group: industries applying clean technology, saving energy, and yielding high added value.
Regarding the group of prioritized investing organizations and individuals, besides the traditional subjects (small and medium-sized enterprises, cooperatives, craft village establishments, polluting establishments subject to relocation), Decree 303 has directly added a group of: high-tech enterprises, high-tech product manufacturing enterprises, strategic technology enterprises, science and technology enterprises, digital technology enterprises, and innovative start-ups.
The above regulations demonstrate a shift in infrastructure development mindset, opening vast opportunities for the private economic sector – especially enterprises in the innovation ecosystem – to easily access incentives and industrial land funds at the local level.
3. Reforming administrative procedures and state budget support mechanisms
Decree 303 also marks a shift in management mindset from “pre-inspection” to “post-inspection”. Accordingly, many unnecessary dossiers and documents in the stage of proposing the establishment/expansion of ICs have been cut down, shortening the processing time for administrative procedures.
In addition, the new regulation allows the use of the local state budget to invest in the technical infrastructure of ICs. This capital source will be prioritized for disbursement to: (i) ICs dedicating land funds for high-tech enterprises and innovative start-ups to sub-lease; (ii) ICs located in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions; and (iii) craft village ICs and ICs developed according to the 04 new models mentioned in Section 1.
4. Some recommendations for investors and enterprises
Based on the adjusted and supplemented regulations in Decree 303, infrastructure investors and manufacturing and business enterprises within industrial clusters should note a number of issues as follows:
- For infrastructure investors: Correctly determining the IC model and committing to meeting the corresponding minimum area ratio (such as 30% for high technology, 60% for specialized/supporting ICs) must be strictly implemented right from the project dossier preparation step. Compliance and maintenance of the correct model is a prerequisite condition to be considered for prioritized land fund allocation and to receive local state budget support for infrastructure investment;
- For secondary investors (enterprises leasing land for production and business in ICs): High-tech enterprises and innovative start-ups need to leverage opportunities from the new incentive regulations to seek suitable production premises. Before signing a land lease or sub-lease contract, investors must carefully review the industry planning of the IC to ensure their investment project aligns with the licensed IC model.
In general, through the diversification of IC models and the enhancement of management decentralization, focusing incentives on the high-tech sector, Decree 303 is expected to create a major push, improving competitiveness and promoting sustainable local economic development in the coming time.
