Chu Lai Open Economic Zone in Quang Nam Province. The central province is calling for investment in a wide range of sectors, including automobile support industries, garment-textile plants, entertainment services in coastal areas, high-tech agriculture, and pharmaceutics. — VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam
Organic farming, hi-tech agriculture, tourism and services – these are the key growth areas for Quang Nam Province, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on Sunday.
He said the central province use its two world heritage sites – Hoi An City and My Son Sanctuary, as well as other attractions like a 124km long coastline and the world biosphere site Cham Island, to build itself as an international recreational and tourism centre.
The PM was addressing a conference held in Tam Ky City, Quang Nam, on investment in the central province. The conference was attended by more than 1,000 participants, including investors, businesses and representatives.
Phuc said Quang Nam has great potential in terms of its natural resources, human resources and connectivity (airport, seaport, roads, railways and the national Expressway systems).
He said the province has to make a plan for the next 20 years for hosting a large number investors and tourists. It should have a transparent legal framework and a strong commitment to ensuring favourable conditions for foreign investors.
“The key for opening the door to success in the province is raising the quality of human resources, boosting creativity among the community and developing flexible mechanisms and policies to support investors and businesses,” Phuc said.
He felt the province should be more prominent on the world tourism map. International standard recreational and sports events are yet to be organised in the province, he said.
Phuc also urged the province to boost connections between key economic zones in the neighbouring provinces of Quang Ngai and Da Nang so that a complex of key industry and service centres is established in the coastal central region.
He reminded listeners that Hoi An was once a busy trading port in Asia 300 years ago, and the province could reclaim a similar reputation in the coming decades.
He emphasised that the province must guarantee full conditions and demand prolonged investment from foreign investors in the future.
He said he hoped Quang Nam would become a powerhouse in economic development.
Also at the conference, the province presented investment licences to 32 projects with a total registered capital of US$15.8 billion.
Six commercial banks in Viet Nam also agreed to provide loans worth VND26 trillion ($1.1 billion) to 10 projects in the central province.
The province officially launched yesterday its first “one-stop shop” for all administrative and investment procedures.
Prime Minister nguyen Xuan Phuc and delegates visit the Truong Hai-Chu Lai Mechanical Automobile Industrial Zone. — Photo ngoaivuquangnam.gov.vn
Major investment projects
Thus far, Quang Nam has attracted 135 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with a registered capital of nearly $5.5 billion, the conference heard.
It also heard that the Vinpearl JSC has started construction of the Vinpearl Quang Nam Resort Complex on 179ha in Thang Binh District with a total investment of VND4.8 trillion ($212 million).
The Truong Hai Company, in co-operation with Japanese car producer Mazda, has started construction of the second Mazda plant in the province with total investment of VND12 trillion.
The second Mazda plant will produce 100,000 cars for both domestic and export markets.
The local car maker and its partners have invested $6 billion in the Truong Hai-Chu Lai Industrial Complex since 2003.
Two automobile makers – Hyundai Motors of Korea and France’s Peugeot – have agreed to co-operate with Thaco to make minibuses and commercial car models, Do Xuan Dien, head of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, told Viet Nam News yesterday.
The project will straddle the two coastal communes of Binh Duong and Binh Minh, and its first phase should begin operations in the third quarter of 2018, he said.
Last year, the province commenced work on two major projects – the $4 billion Nam Hoi An Integrated Resort, invested by VinaCapital and Gold Yield Enterprises Corporations, and a $535.3 million expansion of the Truong Hai-Chu Lai Mechanical Automobile Industrial Zone.
The Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, which opened in 2003, has so far attracted a total of 109 projects, 29 of which are foreign invested, with a combined registered capital of more than $1.52 billion.
Sixty-six projects worth more than $837 million are in operation, creating 12,000 jobs for locals.
The Viet Nam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) is also planning to build a fibre-weaving and dyeing garment complex with a total investment of VND1.5 trillion ($71 million) in the central province.
Thaco chairman Tran Ba Duong said his company alone has invested VND28 trillion to build a logistics centre, car production factories, a vocational training college, a sea port and storage system, as well as a shipping service in Quang Nam.
Duong said the complex earned total revenues of $2 billion last year, contributing VND13.8 trillion to the State budget and creating 8,000 jobs for locals.
Two Korean-invested companies – Panko Tam Thang and Duck San Vina –began work in 2015 on projects with a total investment of $80 million in Tam Ky City’s Tam Thang Industrial Zone (IZ).
Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dinh Van Thu, said 91 textile and garment companies, operating in the province, produced products worth VND2.9 trillion in 2015.
He said the province has called for more investment and co-operation from foreign partners in developing supporting industries.
The province has so far developed 19 industrial parks and complexes on a total area of 4,700ha.
It has invested VND825 billion to dredge the Tam Hiep and Ky Ha ports, providing access to 20,000 DWT cargo ships.
It has also launched the new Chu Lai-Incheon (South Korea) sea route.
Airport upgrade
The Chu Lai Airport in the province will be upgraded to handle 2.3 million passengers and 1.5 million tonnes of cargo by 2025.
Nguyen Hong Quang, provincial Party Secretary, said the airport project will help make the province a key destination and logistics centre for foreign investors in the central region, and link the economic zones of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Da Nang.
He said budget carrier Vietjet and US partner Parsons Brinckerhoff have proposed a master plan for upgrading the airport in three phases: from now until 2020, 2020-25 and beyond 2025.
He said the first phase, implemented with VND2.5 trillion from the provincial budget, will allow the airport to host two million passengers per year.— VNS