At a working session with the Department of Science and Technology of the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien on September 22, OSB Group JSC, a Vietnamese private enterprise, presented a proposal to invest in UAV technology development projects across the province.
Specifically, OSB plans to execute three component projects in Dien Bien with an estimated total investment of VND168 billion ($6.4 million). The package comprises a UAV manufacturing plant, a flight testing and training center, and a center dedicated to showcasing and educating in UAV, aviation, and aerospace technologies.
The UAV flight testing and practice center is slated for installation in the province's Muong Lay Ward. Covering approximately 10,700 square meters, the project includes a flight corridor, a UAV airfield, a seaplane landing site, a flight field technical zone, and a flight control tower.
The UAV manufacturing plant, occupying about 5,500 square meters of land, is currently under consideration for its location in either Muong Lay Ward or Dien Bien Phu Ward. Its planned functional areas include airframe production, precision CNC machining and mechanics, electronics assembly, final assembly, testing and inspection, warehousing, administrative offices, and supporting infrastructure.
As part of the same ecosystem, OSB also proposed constructing the UAV, aviation, and aerospace showcase and training center at the Provincial Innovation Center, spanning roughly 1,000 square meters. It will feature UAV technology display spaces, flight simulation rooms, specialized training classrooms, digital infrastructure, and instructional resources.
To move these projects forward, OSB leadership requested guidance from local authorities regarding procedures, investment policy approvals, and consideration for inclusion in the province’s regulatory sandbox for low-altitude economic development using unmanned aerial vehicles.
The company also sought support with site surveys, land allocation, technical infrastructure investment, and incentive policies covering taxes, land use, credit, R&D, innovation, intellectual property, commercialization, and human resource training.
Mr. Pham Thanh Nam, Deputy Director in charge of the Department of Science and Technology of Dien Bien Province, commended OSB Group's investment direction in the local UAV sector.
He noted that the proposal opens new avenues of cooperation between state management agencies and private enterprises in research, application, manufacturing, and training, thereby fostering science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation for the local socio-economic development.
He assured that the department will report to provincial authorities to instruct relevant agencies to coordinate, guide, and facilitate the company’s investment procedures, while researching and proposing suitable support policies to expedite execution.
Earlier in June, the Dien Bien Provincial People’s Committee issued Decision No. 1291/QD-UBND licensing a controlled testing program (sandbox) for digital technology products and services in low-altitude economic operations using UAVs. Running through May 31, 2027, the trial focuses on four primary fields: agriculture, logistics, healthcare, and digital mapping.
Dien Bien aims to conduct around 6,000 UAV flights during the trial period, striving for a safe flight rate above 99 percent. The province will step-by-step build a database to support flight management, flight monitoring, digital mapping, and digital elevation modeling within the testing scope.
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