Hanoi is set to establish mega-scale laboratories valued at hundreds of millions of USD or more, Director of the City Department of Science and Technology, Mr. Tran Anh Tuan, told the TECHFEST Vietnam 2025 press conference on December 3.
For example, Vietnam National University Hanoi at Hoa Lac will host a key laboratory for energy and the environment, while Hanoi Medical University will feature a life sciences lab, he added.
Notably, these will be "open laboratories" operating under a "three-party" model involving institutes/universities, businesses, and the city government. In the future, these labs will serve as the core infrastructure for researching and developing modern, new technologies. This initiative is backed by strong investment resources and a commitment to spend 4% of Hanoi’s budget on science and technology under the city’s venture capital fund program, set to be implemented starting in 2026.
"Only when we complete the infrastructure, increase investment, and establish mechanisms that are strong enough, can the ecosystem be nurtured to develop breakthrough technological ideas," Mr. Tuan affirmed.
According to Mr. Tuan, in the near future, once the investment rate for research and development (R&D) and systematic infrastructure construction is raised from 1% to 2% of GDP, Vietnam will finally have sufficient resources to develop in-depth research groups in fields such as gene technology and stem cell technology.
Identifying one of the "bottlenecks" in the development of Hanoi's startup ecosystem over the years, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Truong Viet Dung pointed out that the coordination between the three parties—the city, universities, and enterprises—has not been truly effective.
Consequently, following working sessions with several universities in the area, Hanoi will officially inaugurate a network of innovation centers featuring approximately six Innovation Hubs on December 22, according to Mr. Dung.
In September, Hanoi established a Venture Capital Fund with a capital contribution of VND600 billion (nearly $22.8 million) from the city budget.
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