Vietnamese people transport goods to Cambodia at Moc Bai Border Gate in the southern province of Tay Ninh. It is expected to be an international trade center in the near future. Photo mytour.vn

(Biz Hub) — Viet Nam's Moc Bai Economic Zone and Border Gate (hereinafter referred to as "the Zone") is expected to become an international trade center in the near future. The Zone will serve to promote cooperation and development between Viet Nam and Cambodia, as well as the other countries in the ASEAN region.

Located along the soon to be completed Trans-Asia Road, the Zone is in a prime position to benefit from the trade that will soon by moving via the new roadway. The Trans-Asia Road, currently under construction, stretches from Myanmar, through Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Viet Nam, and finally ends in Quangxi, China.

The completion of the Trans-Asia Road will mean that the Zone will only be 70km away from Ho Chi Minh City, one of the main economic centers of Viet Nam. Thus the Zone will be an important intersection between the transportation systems of South Viet Nam and the Trans-Asia Road.

The Zone's border gate is the largest land border gate in the south part of the Viet Nam-Cambodia land border route. It covers an area of 7,000 hectares and currently employs more than 1,800 local workers. According to the master construction plan, by 2020 the border gate area will comprise a total area of 7,400 hectares and have a population of 100,000 people. The Economic Zone as a whole covers an area of 21,283 hectares.

The Vietnamese government has announced, as part of the development scheme of the Moc Bai border zone, the creation of a 400 hectare industrial zone, a 286 hectare residential area, and a 152 hectare trade and eco-tourism area.

Additionally, the Zone is expected to attract a large amount of both local and foreign investment. It has already attracted 34 investors and a total of 46 investment projects worth a total VND6,200 billion (US$295 million).

The Zone is providing a number of incentives to attract businesses to the area. An exemption from import-export and value-added tax will be given for enterprises operating in the trade and industrial zones. In addition, an 11 year exemption from land rent will be given to investors in Moc Bai, beginning from the signing of their land rent contracts.

The Vietnamese government has stated that one of the main goals of the Zone is to function as a mechanism that will allow the country to greatly increase the amount of commodities that it exports to Cambodia. Part of the way it will achieve this is through the use of a large array of duty-free supermarkets within the Zone.

Signifying the Vietnamese government's commitment to the success of the Moc Bai Zone, a Management Board has recently been created for the Zone and has been tasked with the mission of "managing, organizing and providing investors with services in public administrative procedures and other supporting services on investment, production and trade."

This article was first published on Vietnam Briefing.

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