Amata VN Plc, a subsidiary of SET-listed Amata Corporation, Thailand's biggest industrial estate developer, says it has been granted a licence from the Vietnamese government to start developing a second industrial estate project in the southern region of Vietnam.

The US$23 million project -- Amata Service City Long Thanh 1 -- spans 346.25 rai in Dong Nai province near Ho Chi Minh City, said president and chief executive Somhatai Panichewa.

The funds were obtained during Amata VN's initial public offering last year, when the company put forward 166.37 million IPO shares, after which it received 1.247 billion baht.

"Construction is set to get under way in 2018, with sales to investors expected the following year," Mrs Somhatai said.

Amata Service City Long Thanh 1 will include a residential area, a commercial area, a warehouse and logistics facilities.

The estate is part of a broader development project utilising over 7,900 rai of land. Amata VN has been granted two out of the four licences it has applied for so far to implement its plans.

The company is still waiting to receive licences for Amata Township Long Thanh, which is set to occupy a 4,706.25 rai plot of land, and Amata Service City Long Thanh 2, which will be on a 303 rai plot.

The company is expected to be granted the remaining two licences by the third quarter of this year.

Mrs Somhatai said Amata VN will target both local and foreign investors for the latest projects, as it initially did when it was granted a licence to develop its Amata City Long Thanh (high-tech real estate) project. The project, occupying a 2,562.5 rai plot of land, got under way in 2015 and is expected to be open to investors in 2017.

"The project is part of a plan to develop the city, which is strategically located to support both air-logistics, marine-logistics and land-logistics," she said, adding it is close to major commercial ports as well as the international airport.

Amata VN is a holding company involved in industrial estates and related businesses in Vietnam. It has worked in Vietnam for nearly 20 years and was the first foreign-based company to invest in industrial estates in the country.

Amata VN developed 4,375 rai for Amata City Bien Hoa Co, near Ho Chi Minh City, of which 80% of the land has been utilised and the rest is expected to be leased within the next four years.

The company has set a sales target of 125 rai a year and expects 25% annual growth.