The Dung Quat Oil Refinery plans located in central Quang Ngai Province .— File Photo

HA NOI (Biz Hub)— Inflows into the central provinces this year hit US$1.5 billion from 66 projects, bringing total FDI capital to $25.5 billion.

Trinh Minh Van, director of the Trade and Investment Promotion Centre for Central Region was quoted as saying by online vnexpress newspaper that the central region has attracted several large scale FDI projects, despite the world economic downturn.

Worthy of note was Binh Dinh Province which attracted the Russian Bus Industrial Centre Company investing $1 billion in building a bus spare parts production and assembly plant.

The first phase of the Viet Nam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP), with a total investment of $125 million, started its construction in Quang Ngai Province.

The Vung Ro oil refinery project in Phu Yen has increased its investment capital from $1.7 billion to $3.2 billion, and a $30 billion oil refinery project is planned in Binh Dinh Province.

Le Huu Loc, chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, told the newspaper that several investors from Russia, Japan and South Korea have been meeting with Petroleum Group of Thailand in the Nhon Hoi project.

Loc added that international consultants have conducted a feasibility study to submit their report to relevant ministries and agencies for approval in April. Thailand Shongkala University and Quy Nhon University signed a contract on training human resources for the project.

He said Japanese businesses have also been interested in building some seafood processing plants, a garment and textile centre and the Hai Giang tourism site with a 1.5km cable system installed in the province.

Meanwhile, Quang Ngai has expected that VSIP would attract more FDI in the coming years, as it comes into operation.

Cao Khoa, of the provincial People's Committee, said VSIP has attracted five foreign investors after only three months after its inauguration.

These included the Philippines URC Central Company, with a $35 million factory to produce Jack&Jill potato chips; Chinese Kingmaker Footwear and Hebei Xindadong Garment and Textile, with $20 million and $60 million footwear factories, respectively.

The investors were expected to provide jobs for 11,000 local workers.

In addition, the Philippines Liwayway Marketing and OceanMaster Engineering Group also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on building a food production factory.

Dung Quat Economic Zone (EZ) has attracted more than $10 billion of FDI, of which $5 billion has been disbursed. It was targeted to attract around $15 billion in FDI by 2015, generating 25,000 jobs and contributing VND25 trillion ($1.19 billion) to the State budget.

The province has proposed to apply a city model for the EZ (Economic Zone) to overcome the existing shortcomings of the current multilevel management.

Le Van Dung, deputy head of the EZ's management board, told the newspaper that the Ministry of Planning and Investment was going to submit its proposal for construction of a $4.5 billion steel factory to the Prime Minister for approval.

The project is a joint venture between Japanese JFE Steel and Taiwanese E-United.

If the project was approved by the PM in parallel with the establishment of the oil refinery, a heavy-industry and rolling steel complex would bring a new life to the EZ, he said. — VNS