With huge potential development, Binh Dinh is proving its role in pushing economic development in the central region. According to the Binh Dinh People’s Committee, the province’s economic growth in 2009 reached 7.96 per cent.

Of which, the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector grew 7.3 per cent, the industrial and construction sector grew 7.43 per cent and the service sector grew 11 per cent.

“Binh Dinh kept high growth last year amidst the economic difficulties in the country. This implies that our province is emerging as an economic hub in the central region,” said Le Huu Loc, vice chairman of the Binh Dinh People’s Committee.

Binh Dinh is 300 kilometres south of Danang and 600km north of Ho Chi Minh City. The province is said to have huge potential to be a driving force for economic development in the overal central region. According to the annual Provincial Competitiveness Index conducted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the United States Agency for International Development, which reflects the quality of provincial investments and their business climate, Binh Dinh was ranked 11th in 63 provinces nationwide in 2008 and it jumped to the 7th position in 2009.

Binh Dinh’s Quy Nhon seaport is one among the busiest ports in Vietnam. Last year, the port was reported to handle about 4 million tonnes of cargo, much higher than Danang port—the existing largest port in the central region. Due to its favourable geographic position, Binh Dinh is on the radar of many domestic and foreign investors.

“With its advantageous geographical position and bright economic oultlook, Binh Dinh is a good place to make investments,” said Nguyen Thanh, director of the An Phu Thinh Joint Stock Company. Thanh’s company is now developing a large commercial centre in Binh Dinh. Furthermore, his company plans to build a multi-million dollar residential and tourism project in the province.

According to the Binh Dinh Planning and Investment Department, the province has so far received 33 foreign invested projects with total registered capital of about $420 million. The projects’ investors are from the United States, Japan, China, Korea, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia, Germany, Thailand and Australia.

The Hong Kong-based Hong Yeung Company is also developing a $30 million industrial park in Binh Dinh’s Nhon Hoi Economic Zone. So far—although the park is still under construction—four foreign investors have registered to build their factories inside the park, with total investment capital of about $100 million.

Wood processing is an attractive industry in Binh Dinh. The province has 400,000 hectares of forests that can provide materials for wood processing plants. So far, more than 110 enterprises have invested into this industry in Binh Dinh and they can export about 22,000 containers of wood furniture on average each year.

Binh Dinh government announced that it would continue encouraging investors to invest in wood processing industry over the next few years. Loc said that the province was also expanding public investments in infrastructure projects to improve its investment climate.

“Although we have been actively improving the infrastructure network and business climate in Binh Dinh, the quality of licenced projects are still below our expectations and the development of some investment projects remain at slow pace,” Loc said. According to the Binh Dinh Planning and Investment Department, some domestic and foreign investors were delaying construction of their projects due to the impacts of the economic slowdown.

Binh Dinh authorities recently revoked investment certificates of the Gemadept Corporation, which had registered to build Nhon Hoi seaport. “In the future we will be very careful in selecting investors for developing projects in Binh Dinh,” Loc said.

Vietnam’s central province of Khanh Hoa-based Van Phong economic zone (EZ) has to date licensed 84 projects totaling US$15.3 billion.

The province, which is a center of tourism and shipbuilding in Vietnam, now home to five shipyards including Hyundai-Vinashin, Nha Trang, Cam Ranh, Nam Cam Ranh IP and South Korea’s STX

Tan Tao Investment & Industry Corporation (ITACO) will start construction in May 2010, ITACO’s representative in Quang Ngai Mr Nguyen Van Tam said recently.

With an investment of VND 285 billion (over US$ 16 million), ITACO is to develop Pho Phong Industrial Zone (IZ), a 157-hectare-IZ, a key-large-scale complex in the Sourthen Quang Ngai province.

As licensed, ITACO is to build up the technical and social infrastructure for the effective exploitation of the project and to carry out investment, development, construction and business activities for the Residential Area and social amenities composed of houses, apartments, offices, restaurants, hotels, commercial centers…etc.

Additionally, upon completion, the Industrial-Residential and Service Complex will vehemently promote urbanization, industrialization, and tourism and service development in Duc Pho district as well as in the southern part of Quang Ngai province.

The project is to be implemented within 38 months.

The Hai Phong Peoples Committee made public Prime Ministerial Decision 1448/QD-TTg dated September 16, 2009, on November 11, regarding changes to the city plan until 2025, with a vision to 2050.

Hai Phong will become a first-class national-standard city, a port city, a traffic center in the Northern Key Economic Zone and an important destination on the Vietnam-China Two Corridors-One Economic Cooperation Belt. Hai Phong will also be a general economic, scientific and technical center in the northern coastal region.

Apart from the seven districts that exist in the city, Hai Phong will create five new districts (Ben Rung, Bac Song Cam, An Duong and Trang Cat-Cat Hai) plus suburban districts, Cat Ba Island and the Dinh Vu-Cat Hai Economic Zone.

The decision was made in response to the population, development directions, architecture, infrastructure and more in the city in the future.

The Binh Duong Province Department of Planning and Investment said that 24 industrial zones (IZs) in Binh Duong have leased 2,579 ha to businesses. Of these, 10 IZs – Song Than I, Song Than II, Dong An, Binh Duong, Viet Huong 1, Tan Dong Hiep A, Vietnam-Singapore I, My Phuoc I, My Phuoc II and Binh An – have leased more than 90 percent of ground. In so doing, they have contributed importantly to the provincial economic development in the direction of rapidly increasing production.

So far, 28 IZs have been planned on 8,950 ha of Binh Duong. Of these, six stand on 713.6 ha of Di An district, three on 654.6 ha of Thuan An district, nine on 4,113 ha of Ben Cat district, three on 1,751 ha of Tan Uyen district and seven on 1,717 ha of the Industrial-Service-Urban Complex.

The Kim Thanh trade and industrial zone in northern border Lao Cai province, the biggest one in the country’s northwest region, was put into operation on Oct. 24.

The zone’s operation will help not only promote the strong development of the Kunming-Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong economic corridor but also Vietnamese goods easily penetrate China’s market, especially the two countries’ goods showcase at the Vietnam-China international tourism and trade fair slated for November 2 in Lao Cai province.

The 156ha zone encompasses seven small zones, including a management zone, an exhibition-fair and complex trade zone, an entertainment area and a warehouse.

Deputy Director of the Border Economic Management Board and Director of the zone’s Management Centre Nguyen Duc Loi said that so far 32 work items of the zone were built at a total cost of almost 200 billion VND. The zone has to date had 14 domestic and foreign invested projects licensed worth almost 800 billion VND in total, he added.

More than 300 domestic and foreign businesses pledged to pour a total of VND24,677 billion into the Central Highlands while attending a regional investment promotion forum in Dak Lak province on September 5.

Leaders from Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Lam Dong and Dak Nong provinces handed over investment certificates worth VND8,528 billion to investors. They also signed an agreement with various economic groups, State corporations, businesses and banks to implement 30 investment projects totalling nearly VND16,150 billion in their localities. These projects mainly focus on infrastructure construction, paper production, power generation, rubber plantations, coffee processing, steel production, tourism and healthcare services.

In his opening speech, Minister of Public Security Le Hong Anh, who is head of the Steering Board for the Central Highlands, said that the region has great potential for socio-economic development, citing its abundant natural resources such as land and minerals, and breathtaking scenery for tourism. He also confirmed that the region holds a special position in the national economy and defence.

He noted that the Party and State have so far invested a great deal in the region to improve local people’s well-being and narrow the development gap with the lowland region. Thanks to intensive investment and efforts by local people, the Central Highlands has achieved an annual GDP growth rate of more than 10 percent in recent years.
“Such development has yet to match the region’s great potential,” said Mr Anh. “The purpose of this forum is to realise its potential to attract investment, develop the economy and improve people’s living conditions.”

It was reported at the forum that the Central Highlands has established commercial farming areas for key products such as coffee, rubber and pepper, while building basic technical infrastructure to serve its socio-economic development. It has gradually tapped its potential for developing hydro-power, mining and agro-forestry processing industries.

However, the region finds it hard to lure investors as its potential has not been fully tapped. Between 2001-2008, the region only attracted VND109,000 billion in combined investment capital, an equivalent to just 4 percent of the country’s total.

Mai Van Nam, deputy head of the Steering Committee for the Central Highlands, said the region considers investment promotion a driving force behind its development, especially for infrastructure construction.

“We will work closely with the five provinces and investors to increase the efficiency of investment in the region by continuing to accelerate administrative reform and create a favourable and healthy business environment in line with the international norm,” said Mr Nam.

He said that his steering board is working with the Ministry of Planning and Investment on a number of special incentives to be offered to investors. These proposals will be submitted to the PM and, if they are approved, they will turn the Central Highlands into an attractive investment destination.

Taking the floor, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong proclaimed the Central Highlands as a goldmine and called on domestic and foreign businesses to invest in the region for mutual benefit. He asked the five provinces to fulfil their commitments to investors and assured them that the government is willing to work closely with the provinces and investors to iron out any snags.

The five provinces introduced 120 projects with a combined investment capital of approximately VND100,000 billion (US$5 billion) to businesses at the forum. Lam Dong province topped the list, with projects valued at VND85,838 billion, followed by Dak Lak (VND5,153 billion), Kon Tum (VND4,761 billion), Dak Nong (VND2,134 billion) and Gia Lai (VND1,918 billion). (NREN)

Nguyen Van Tri, Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission asked the capital city to create and implement policies for compensation and resettlement.

While working with a delegation of National Assembly Deputies from Hanoi, he requested that the pace of the Hanoi’s projects be speed up.

There are only 11 projects in operation and 6 others are currently being built out of a in the total of 37 projects which are licensed for investment.

According to the overall plan, ratified by the Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in May last year, the Hoa Lac High-tech Park will cover the size of 1,600ha. However, so far only half of the land has been cleared. The technical infrastructure of the park is still very poor, and the transport links are still inadequate.(VOV)