Vietnamese Government is keen on developing Industrial Parks and
Economic Zones in the central coastal region, Tran Duy Dong, Deputy
Director of Economic Zone Management Department under the Ministry of
Planning and Investment, said in his talk with the Vietnam Investment
Review recently.
*What’s your assessment of IPs and EZs in terms of investment capital and economic contribution to the national economy ?
The Government highly values the contribution of IPs and EZs to Vietnam’s investment capital and socio-economic development.
They
have helped restructure and modernise the economy. At present, IP and
EZ-based enterprises have employed two million workers and produced 40
percent of the total industrial production value and 30 percent of the
total export turnover respectively.
IPs and EZs are
attractive destinations for investors, especially foreign investors.
Over 50 percent of total foreign direct investment (FDI) capital in the
country has come from IPs and EZs. Last year, 90 percent of total FDI
capital was channelled via FDI projects in IPs and EZs.
In the
central coastal region, Thua Thien-Hue and Binh Thuan provinces were not
able to attract as much investment as the two leading economic areas of
the Southeast region and the Red River Delta. By the end of 2013, the
central coastal region’s IPs attracted 189 FDI projects with registered
capital of 2.743 billion USD and 830 domestic projects with registered
capital of 49.600 billion VND (2.3 million USD). Meanwhile, EZs
attracted 69 FDI projects with total investment capital of 8.2 billion
USD, and 225 domestic projects with investment capital of 125.235
billion VND (5.9 million USD).Although the total investment capital from
the central coast’s IPs and EZs was modest, it contributed remarkably
to socio-economic development in the region.
*What are the potential sectors in the central coast?
In the central coastal region, the maritime economy, port construction, especially deep-water ports are potential sectors.
Ports and logistic services will provide a goods trans-shipment location for domestic and international cargo.
This
is a good opportunity for Vietnam to participate in the global value
chains, enhance the value of Vietnamese goods as well as promote
socio-economic development.
The region is also the ideal
destination for the development of heavy industry such as shipbuilding,
petrochemicals and steel. Dung Quat oil refinery plant has been put into
operation and maintained production stably. We, therefore, can develop
support industries for these industries.
Besides Dung Quat, Phu
Yen province granted an investment certificate for the Vung Ro refinery
project with investment capital of 3.2 billion USD, and Binh Dinh
province is considering the 27 billion USD Nhon Hoi refinery project.
In
addition, the central coastal region has the long and beautiful
coastline which is suitable for developing tourist projects. Seafood
processing is also a potential sector to attract the investment.
*The
region has many advantages to develop, but investment attraction
remains limited. Will the Vietnamese Government promulgate special
mechanism and policies to attract investors to the central coastal
provinces ?
The Vietnamese Government aims to achieve equal
development among different regions. So the Government is keen on
developing IPs and EZs in the central coastal region.
From now
until 2015, the Government will increase its budget to develop Dung
Quat and Chu Lai EZs. And in the future, other EZs in the region will
also receive support from the Government.
All provinces across
Vietnam are subject to the same investment mechanisms and policies.
However, IPs in the central coastal region are facing difficulties,
there are calls for lower corporate income taxes in IPs as a special
treatment to the region.
The Government will also support
the central coastal provinces in investment promotion and develop
mechanisms and policies to attract investment especially in projects
such as the transportation system, coastal paths and power plants.
The
Vietnamese Government hopes the development of IPs and EZs in the
central coastal region will catch up with the Southeast region and Red
River Delta in the near future.-VNA