Central Key Economic Zone: Needingan Investment Strategy

The regional coordination and combination of strengths of different localities in the region is one out of main contents at a conference on promoting investment into the central key economic zone held recently in Quang Nam province by the Ministry of Planning and Investment in conjunction with authorities of five provinces of Danang, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai emphasized central localities need to focus on implementing well five contents relating to foreign investment attraction, in parallel with representing more strongly their role in the region economy.

Enhancing investment and using effectively capital sources.

The central key economic zone includes localities of Quang Ngai, Quang Nam, Danang, Binh Dinh, Thua Thien-Hue. This region is located in within the influential areas of the West-East Economic Corridor (WEEC) and the Greater Mekong Sub-region, is endowed with great advantages. In the future, the central region is expected to develop many urban areas, taking shape a chain of coastal urban areas from Hue, Chan May, Danang-Hoi An-Tam Ky-Van Tuong-Quang Ngai-Quy Nhon.

Being one out of activities of the national program on investment promotion 2010, the conference on promoting investment into the central key economic zone aims to introduce typical images, investment climate and business opportunities in the fields of tourism, industry, economic zones and infrastructures of the region and concretize with a list of calling for investments for the period of 2010-2020. According to Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai, the conference’s purpose is to attract investments and use effectively capital sources, particularly foreign direct investments (FDI) to contribute to boost the region’s socio-economic development.

During the conference, the participants got opportunities to discuss policies, potentials and investment opportunities as well as offer specific measures to lure more long-term investment projects into the region. Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong said Vietnam needs to invest strongly and comprehensively into the region to push its leadership role, through which creating a driving force for all central, central highlands regions and others localities in the whole country.

He added the country should paid a special attention to the development and investment into infrastructure of marine economy, particularly building deep water seaports and key road routes linking seaports with industrial zones, economic zones and big industrial projects in the region. Basic investments starting from well infrastructures will help to push up the tourism development and other industries.

At the conference, local authorities granted investment certificates for the two projects into the Nhon Hoi economic zone. The first was given to the ALT tourism development joint stock company to build the Hon Ngoc Vietnam (Vietnam Pearl) five-star international tourism and resort complex on a site of 125 heaters at the Nhon Ly-Cat Tien sea tourism site. The project costs US$125 million. The second was granted to the Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) to build the Nhon Hoi port and port logistics areas in order to serve the Nhon Hoi economic zone. Based on which the company will continue developing the port into a main port to serve the socio-economic development of all southern central, central highlands regions and transferring goods to south Laos, and northeast Cambodia. The project scale has total investment of VND6 trillion and include ten wharfs with a width of 2,117 meters and area of 109 hectares, which is capable to ships of 30,000DWT.

Exploitation of sea potential

The role of FDI to the central region’s economic development becomes clearer as it has so far contributed over 5 per cent of the country’s GDP and created direct jobs for 60,000 locals. The sharp increase of FDI flow since 2007 with some projects costing up to billions of dollar has created a new investment wave into the central key economic region. Within three years between 2007 and 2009, total FDI into the region reached nearly US$11.3 billion, quadrupling the figure of 19 years ago.

By May 2001, the central key economic zone had attracted roughly 400 valid projects with total registered capitals of up to US$15 billion, accounting for 75 per cent of the volume and 61 per cent of the investment capital into both central and central highlands regions, and 3.8 per cent of the volume and 9 per cent of the capital into the whole country.

The government has offered a series of policies to boost investments into main infrastructures such as road, aviation, ports, and build the legal system to facilitate the development of industrial zones, tourism sites in Dung Quat, Chu Lai, Danang, Hoi An. Many investors said that if central localities know ways to exploit well their potentials and advantages on marine, the region in the future will become the country’s most dynamic area, particularly in tourism. Thus, experts recommended local authorities should build specific strategy to activate these potentials, contributing to bring the high economic growth for the region, with a main focus on tourism and coastal urban area projects.

The new point at the conference is that the organization board spent much time for the participants to discuss issues relating to the planning, investment orientation, mechanisms and policies to attract investment for localities of the central key economic zone to submit to the government and relevant ministries for consideration and approval. Besides, many troubles emerging in the project implementation process were frankly mentioned at the conference.

However, to encourage central localities to further develop their advantages, Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai highlighted central provinces need to focus on five main issues: Firstly, implementing well policies on investment priorities of the government to the region; secondly, they need to build comprehensive system of infrastructures particularly those for transport and energy; thirdly, it is necessary to raise the quality of human sources to meet the increasing demand of enterprises; fourthly, localities should research and promote inter-provincial investment projects in order to take advantage of available potentials and finally they need to pay a special attention to measures to cope with effects caused by the climate change to ease maximally negative influences to investment projects. – VCCI

Tags: invest in Vietnam, Vietnam FDI, Vietnam investment