In June, the province allowed Thailand's Amata Group and its Vietnamese partner, Tuan Chau Au Lac Group, to hold a feasibility study of the project's first phase on an area of 500ha in Quang Yen District at a cost of $1.5-2 billion.—Photo saigontimes

HA NOI (Biz Hub)— Northeastern Quang Ninh Province's People's Committee has decided to set up a steering board to accelerate investment procedures for a US$2 billion hi-tech park and urban township.

The complex would cover 16,000 hectares of Quang Yen, Uong Bi Districts and Ha Long City.

It would consist of a green industrial park, residential suburb, free-trade areas, sports facilities, convention centre, schools, a university and entertainment facilities.

Chairman of the People's Committee Nguyen Van Doc was elected head of the newly established board while several directors of the provincial departments were assigned specific tasks in the project.

In June, the province allowed Thailand's Amata Group and its Vietnamese partner, Tuan Chau Au Lac Group, to hold a feasibility study of the project's first phase on an area of 500ha in Quang Yen District at a cost of $1.5-2 billion.

This phase is expected to start in December. The first plant would go into operation next year.

Doc said that if Amata's project was built in Quang Ninh, it would help attract more foreign investment to the province,

He added that they considered Amata as a long term investor and they also wanted it to consider Quang Ninh as a strategic investment destination.

This would be Amata's largest project in Viet Nam and the province's largest industrial park and urban area.

It also showed the group's ambition to expand investment in Viet Nam through the development of large-scale industrial and urban property projects.

Amata has developed a 700-ha industrial park in the southern province of Dong Nai's Bien Hoa City. The project has attracted more than 120 multinational companies.

Last year, it announced that it would develop the giant Amata Express City project which would comprise a 760-ha township next to the Dong Nai River, a 420-ha hi-tech industrial area and another 105-ha urban area.

Amata early this year decided to list its subsidiary, Amata Viet Nam, on the Stock Exchange of Thailand and raised funds to invest in the expansion of its business in the country.

Quang Ninh Province has emerged as an attractive destination for foreign investors. Foreign direct investment commitment in the province last year was about $396 million, 15 times higher than that of 2011.

Belgian Rent-A-Port company has been doing a feasibility study for a port and industrial park in the province.

The province is now the third largest economic hub in northern Viet Nam, after Ha Noi and Hai Phong. It is also home of the largest coal mine in the country and the Cai Lan deep-seaport. — VNS