Leading Light in Investment Attraction in Mekong Delta

According to Le Van Huong, Deputy Director of Tra Vinh Planning and Investment Department, with its many efforts in investment environment improvement, last year, Tra Vinh attracted 13 domestic projects with total registered capital investment of VND660 billion and seven foreign-invested projects with combined investment capital of US$43 million. The province also licensed 204 new businesses with an aggregate capital of VND3,074 billion. These projects were mainly involved in industry, aquaculture, seafood commercial fishing and processing, transportation and agriculture. The Tra Vinh Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Centre called investment capital for 36 projects in industry, construction, infrastructure, trade, tourism, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and others to serve the social and economic development strategy of the province. Especially, at the Mekong Delta Investment Promotion and Development Cooperation Conference in Can Tho City, the province signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Land Joint Stock Company (VNPT Land) on investment in an administrative, service, commercial and residential zone, which is estimated to cost VND405 billion and cover an area of 13ha.

 

Six ODA projects are being carried out in the province, including making markets work better for the poor project; Tra Vinh living improvement project; local capacity enhancement project; water drainage water system project in Tra Vinh town; Cau Ngang water plant expansion and rehabilitation project; and Lang The irrigational system project. Total funding for the six projects is VND671.8 billion.

 

To achieve the above results, Tra Vinh has exerted all natural advantages, like its central location in the Mekong Delta region, to attract more investment capital. The province also unlocked its potential to develop multiple industries to attract investment capital for socioeconomic development.

 

Roads linking with Mekong Delta provinces like National Roads 53, 54 and 60 are being built and upgraded to facilitate transport. Preferential tax policies, good infrastructure, technology transfer and training support for businesses also add magnetism for the province in catching more investment. With such conditions, Tra Vinh province is a bright star of investment attraction in the Mekong Delta.

 

Additionally, Tra Vinh received central support for Mekong Delta economic development projects. Typical projects include Duyen Hai thermal power plant. This 4,400 MW facility, which costs some US$5 billion, sourced from cooperation funds between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of the Czech Republic, will meet regional demand for electricity. Another project is Quan Chanh Bo Canal, linking to Cai Cui Port of Can Tho City – the largest city in the Mekong Delta – is capable of supporting ships of 20,000 tonnes.

 

From these advantages, Tra Vinh is planning to build an international transhipment port to reduce pressure on Can Tho Port and facilitate local import and export activities. The province also upgrades National Road 60, which connects Tra Vinh with Soc Trang and Ben Tre provinces, and reduces transport distance to the country’s largest economic centre of Ho Chi Minh City to 130 km, from 200 km.

 

Particularly, Tra Vinh receives central government priority investments to build key national projects like building passageways for seagoing ships to enter the Hau River, Co Chien bridge project, and Dinh An Economic Zone project. Besides, Long Duc, Co Chien and Cau Quan industrial parks in the province are attractive destinations for investors.

 

In the future, to sustain investment capital attraction, Mr Le Van Huong, said the Department of Planning and Investment of Tra Vinh province is coordinating with provincial authorities and other agencies to arrange overseas road-shows to attract foreign investment. South Korea and Japan are currently favoured targets.

 

In 2011, Tra Vinh will continue attracting investment capital, especially into the Dinh An Economic Zone and industrial complexes. So far, the Prime Minister approved the formation of one economic zone, three industrial zones and 10 industrial complexes with a total area of 39,813.24 hectares in Tra Vinh province. It is accelerating land compensation and clearance to build the economic zone and other industrial zones to provide ready land for investors when they decide to do business here. It will also improve shortcomings and red tape in administrative procedures.

 

The province will also concentrate on calling investment capital for infrastructure construction and processing of agricultural and aquatic products, encouraging labour-intensive projects like processing, supporting industry, electronics and mechanical assembly industries. In addition to preferential policies from the central authorities, Tra Vinh province also provides its own supports, like training for enterprises when they do business here.

 

According to the report of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), in 2010, Tra Vinh province ranked fourth out of 63 provinces and cities in the provincial competitiveness index (PCI), and second, just after Dong Thap, in the 13 Mekong Delta region provinces.

Mr Huong said that, in the future, the province will continue providing tax and other incentives and support for local companies, taking advantage of government supports, the consensus of the people, and the coordination of domestic and international investors and enterprises to serve its economic development strategy. It will prioritize investments for traffic infrastructure. 

 

Tra Vinh will continue implementing preferential investment policies of the central government in favour of businesses and investors. At the same time, it will apply local preferential policies, support investors carrying out their projects, upgrade provincial websites to provide the most updated policy information for investors and businesses, and coordinate with media agencies to introduce the investment potential and policies of Tra Vinh.