Under the $35 million support from the Korean government
Vietnam-Korea Institute of Science and Technology (VKIST), established by the South Korean government with $35 million in support, was completed and opened in 10 years aftr the start of construction.
VKIST is the largest research and development center in Vietnam, which was designed to share the model of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), which led Korea's economic development and industrialization.
VKIST is a public research institute under the Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) established as a joint project between South Korea and Vietnam.
The project was invested $35 million each by South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Science and ICT, KOICA, KIST and Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology. It is Vietnam's largest R&D center with a total project cost of $70 million.
Analysts say that it is significant as the single largest project among South Korea's official development assistance (ODA).
VKIST held a completion ceremony at Hoa Lac High-Tech Park and began full-scale operation on Jan. 17.
At the completion ceremony, National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo, Vietnamese National Assembly Speaker Vương Đình Huệ, Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Oh Young-joo, Vice Minister of Science and ICT Oh Tae-seok, KOICA Director Lee Yoon-young, and KIST President Yoon Seok-jin attended.
It is equipped with facilities such as three research buildings, one main building, a central mechanical building, a wastewater treatment plant, and a dangerous goods storage on a site of 231,404㎡ in the high-tech park.
The Korean government provided more than 300 state-of-the-art research equipment, experimental equipment, and electronic equipment.
It was modeled on the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), which attracted investment worth $10 million from the U.S. for the establishment of a science and technology research institute that formed the basis of Korea's economic development.
In fact, the South Korean government launched a project to support the establishment of VKIST in March 2012 when the Vietnamese prime minister, who visited KIST, requested to establish a research institute that benchmarked KIST.
The Korean government is conducting joint research on training and testing with Vietnam so that VKIST can secure competitiveness. It will continue to support research in the fields of eco-friendly, digital transformation, and the 4th industrial revolution.