Affirming the pivotal role in the economic structure

After the merger, Lao Cai province entered a new development phase with a large scale and strong regional connectivity. In particular, the industrial sector continued to affirm its important role as a pillar in the economic structure, contributing directly to GRDP and creating a driving force for the supporting industries, logistics, trade, services and construction.

Lao Cai has large reserves of various minerals.

Large mineral resources reserves

One of the province's outstanding advantages is its rich mineral resources, with large reserves. According to Decision No. 866/QD-TTg dated July 18, 2023, the whole province currently has 187 mineral mines, of which the old Lao Cai area has 65 mines and Yen Bai has 122 mines. The main minerals include lead - zinc, iron, copper, gold, apatite, rare earth and many other minerals which are important raw materials for the construction materials industry and deep processing, creating a closed production, processing and consumption chain, increasing added value and using resources effectively.

The average growth rate in the 2020 - 2025 period will reach 7.29% per year. The industrial production value in 2025 will reach over 75,000 billion VND, an increase of 49.8% compared to 2020, accounting for 29.5% of the province's GRDP.

Copper production at Lao Cai Copper Smelter Factory.

Up to now, Lao Cai has formed a diverse industrial ecosystem, in which deep processing industry accounts for about 76.6% of the internal industry structure, mining industry decreased from 7.38% to 5.5%.

Many high value-added industrial products have been produced such as: copper plate, gold, silver, sulfuric acid, yellow phosphorus, DAP fertilizer, Superphosphate, NPK, DAP, animal feed additives, cast iron, steel, stone powder, sawn stone, cement...

On the apatite mining site.

The province has proactively shifted the internal industry structure towards developing the processing and manufacturing industry, especially deep mineral processing. With its resource advantages, Lao Cai has attracted many large projects in Tang Loong Industrial Park, including: The non-ferrous metal mining - selection - smelting complex of the Vietnam National Coal and Minerals Group (TKV), the apatite deep processing complex of the Duc Giang Chemical Group, fertilizers and high-tech electric cable lines...

These projects not only create high added value but also improve resource efficiency, making important contributions to the province's socio -economic growth.

Production activities at Duc Giang Lao Cai Chemical One Member Co., Ltd.

Building modern industrial parks and deep processing projects

With the synchronous industrial development policies of the Party and State and the drastic direction of the Provincial Party Committee and People's Committee of Yen Bai and Lao Cai (old) provinces and the efforts of the business community over the past 3 decades, the new Lao Cai province has formed 7 industrial parks (Dong Pho Moi, Bac Duyen Hai, Tang Loong, Au Lau, Minh Quan, Tran Yen, Southern Industrial Park), 22 industrial clusters. According to statistics of the Department of Industry and Trade, in the first 9 months of 2025, the industrial production value of the new Lao Cai province is estimated at 51,755 billion VND, an increase of 10.8% over the same period in 2024, reaching 69.01% of the yearly plan.

Recently, Lao Cai province has started construction of Tran Yen Industrial Park Project with a scale of more than 254 hectares, with a total investment capital of over 2,184 billion VND in phase I, with synchronous planning of technical infrastructure, traffic, electricity, water and wastewater treatment. The project is near Noi Bai - Lao Cai highway and the Kunming - Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh economic corridor, along with the high-speed railway line under implementation, the project is expected to attract many domestic and foreign investors, create jobs for tens of thousands of workers, and promote economic growth in the southern region of Lao Cai province.

The groundbreaking of Tran Yen Industrial Park Project along with a number of other projects in the province last August is a step to realize the province's industrial and logistics service development strategy.

Perspective of Tran Yen Industrial Park.

It can be seen that industrial parks are not only production sites but also spread positive impacts on human resources, logistics, trade and services. Mr. Pham Nang Chung - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of the province, said: Lao Cai owns abundant mineral resources, the province's consistent viewpoint is to combine exploitation with deep processing, in order to use and increase the value of mineral materials.

Projects in industrial parks strictly comply with standards on wastewater, exhaust gas and solid waste treatment, and encourage the application of green and high technology to reduce environmental impact and improve resource efficiency.

Mr. Pham Nang Chung - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of the province

Panorama of Tang Loong Industrial Park.

According to Mr. Hoang Chi Hien - Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of the province, based on the planning in Decision No. 316/QD-TTg dated March 29, 2023 and No. 1086/QD-TTg dated September 18, 2023, Lao Cai province has newly established 5 industrial parks, increasing the total number of industrial parks in the province to 12, with an average occupancy rate of over 80% and newly formed 15 industrial clusters, increasing the total number of industrial clusters in the province to 37, with an occupancy rate of about 60% - 70%.

This is a strategic planning step that not only expands production scale but also creates momentum for economic restructuring, improves growth quality, and affirms the key role of the industry in the province's economic development strategy in the coming period.

Mr. Hoang Chi Hien - Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of the province

The new industrial zones will contribute to diversifying the industry. If Lao Cai's industry currently relies mainly on mining, mineral processing, basic chemicals, and metallurgy, the new industrial zones will expand to the fields of logistics, electronics, mechanical engineering, processing and packaging, refrigeration equipment manufacturing, fertilizers, wood processing, and import-export supporting industries. Thereby, forming closed production - processing - consumption chains, increasing added value.

The new industrial parks will contribute to diversifying the province's industry.

In addition, new industrial parks are expected to boost GRDP growth and expand budget revenue, strongly attract private investment and FDI, contributing tens of thousands of billion VND/year to industrial production value and local budget.

Operating the ore dressing line at Sin Quyen Copper Dressing Mine Branch.

It is expected that the industrial parks will create jobs for tens of thousands of direct and indirect workers, contributing to sustainable poverty reduction and increasing income for people, especially in mountainous communes. In particular, Coc My - Trinh Truong Industrial Park will become a logistics - processing center for export, making the most of the potential of Lao Cai International Border Gate, increasing the competitiveness of the province's goods and strongly developing the logistics chain associated with the border gate economy.

Production activities at Lao Cai Iron and Steel Factory.

Lao Cai strives for the proportion of industry in GRDP to reach 33.59% by 2030, of which the processing and manufacturing industry in GRDP will reach 12.21%.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/khang-dinh-vai-tro-tru-cot-trong-co-cau-kinh-te-post883157.html