The Vietnamese government has recently issued a list of 163 key projects to call for US$61 billion in foreign investments in the 2006-2010 period, state media said Friday.
Of the sum, over US$53 billion will be allocated for 109 industry-construction projects, US$7.8 for 48 tourism-service projects and the remaining for six projects in the areas of agriculture-forestry-fisheries, VietnamNet said.
This proves that Vietnam is focusing on infrastructure sector, one of the biggest hurdles for the country’s investment environment, said Phan Huu Thang, head of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI)’s Foreign Investment Department.
The infrastructure improvement is among top priorities for the local government as the country’s existing systems could not meet foreign investors’ demand, Thang added.
Projects of note that call for huge amount of money include the Nghi Son Oil Refinery complex valued at US$5 billion in northern central Thanh Hoa province, the Oil Refinery No. 3 of between US$5 and US$6 billion in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province and the Long Thanh International Airport project worth US$5 billion in southern Dong Nai province.
Other big projects require US$2 billion each are the Lach Huyen port complex in northern Hai Phong city, the Van Phong international port in central Khanh Hoa province, the Southern Petro-chemistry complex in Ba Ria-Vung Tau and the entertainment zone on Tam Hai Island in Quang Nam province.
Ten projects need over US$1 billion each, including the belt road No.3 in Ho Chi Minh City costing US$1.55 billion and Yen Vien-Ngoc Hoi railway capitalized at US$1.618 billion among others.
The official also noted that the list is highly feasible and is expected to attract investors’ great attention.
The MPI will consider specific situation and investors’ expectations. If investors want relocate a project in another location or expand a project, they will face no problems, Thang said.
According to the MPI, Vietnam licensed 8,058 projects valued at US$72.8 billion from 1988 to September 2007. (VietnamNet, Thanh Nien Daily)
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