View of the Van Don economic zone in Quang Ninh province. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Duc

Quang Ninh must become a major investment magnet for both domestic and foreign industry and services, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc wrote in a report recently issued, following his last visit to the northeastern province.

During his visit, the PM discussed the development of the Van Don economic zone and solutions to improve Quang Ninh’s provincial competitiveness index and business environment in 2017.

In the report, the PM urged the provincial authority to strive to become a global hub like Ha Noi, HCM City or Da Nang, serving as a hot spot for investors, tourists, traders and innovators and lead the region in terms of economic development.

He also stressed that the province should create the most favourable conditions possible for small and medium enterprises and local handicraft villages to generate more employment. In 2016, 1,600 new businesses were established in the province, bringing the total number of local firms to a record 12,000. The objective is to double that number to at least 25,000 businesses by 2020.

In particular, Phuc urged, the province must focus on completing key projects and construction, utilising its advantage as a border economy to encourage trade with China and other countries in the region.

The province must also emphasise tourism development, focusing on building eco tourism and controlling the quality of services and price transparency. The goal is to attract 15 to 16 million visitors by 2020, 7 million of them foreign tourists.

Quang Ninh’s economic structure consists mainly of 52 per cent industry construction and 41.2 per cent services. The province ranks sixth in the administrative reform index, and is also one of the busiest tourism destinations in the country with 8.4 million visitors in 2016, up by 19.9 per cent from 2015. — VNS