After 10 years of development, with constant efforts, Dak Nong has made remarkable progress in investment attraction and become an ideal destination for investors. To learn more about the province’s investment orientation, Vietnam Business Forum interviewed Mr Tran Xuan Hai, Director of the Dak Nong Department of Planning and Investment. Cong Luan and Cong Hoang report.
Could you describe the important results in investment attraction in the province in the past 10 years?
Dak Nong has special advantages in land, climate, mineral resources and agricultural resources to draw many investors in high-quality agriculture, agro-forestry processing and extractive industries. Besides, in addition to the State’s general policies, the province has incentive policies to support investors doing business in the province, particularly in high-tech agriculture, industry and trade. Furthermore, the province has invested in building roads to all communes’ administrative centres, supplied enough power for production as well as support services like banking, transportation and basic telecommunication for investors.
The province has licensed a total of 114 non-State construction investment projects with a total capital of VND15,086 billion since 2004. The number of investment projects in the province keeps increasing year after year. Dak Nong has actively exploited its advantages in land, climate, mineral resources and agro-forestry resources based on local conditions to attract more investors to the province. Some large-scale mining projects are underway.
In Dak Nong province, seven projects are invested by gigantic State-owned enterprises with a total investment of VND22,400 billion, including Dong Nai 5 hydropower project invested by the Vietnam National Coal, Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited (Vinacomin); Dak R'Tih hydropower project; Nhan Co alumina processing plant; the infrastructure construction project for Tam Thang Industrial Complex in Cu Jut district; 220-kV Dak Nong - Phuoc Long - Binh Long power transmission project invested by National Power Transmission Corporation; and Dray H'linh 2 hydropower project invested by Hydropower and Electric Power Joint Stock Company.
In 2013, global economic downturn has directly affected the investment situation in the province. Many projects have had to be rescheduled or delayed because of investors’ financial difficulties. So, the number of investment projects registered in the province dropped dramatically in 2013 in comparison with the 2004-2012 period.
How do you assess the actual progress of investment projects in the province?
Out of 114 projects licensed in the 2004-2012 period, 68 projects are active, accounting for 60 per cent; 24 projects have temporarily halted operations, accounting for 21.1 per cent; and 21 projects are inactive, accounting for 19.3 per cent. In general, some licensed projects are paused because of weak financial capacity of investors; some are facing difficulties in the compensation stage; and some projects remain undone after being licensed.
Although Dak Nong province has faced daunting difficulties and challenges, it has managed to obtain certain successes in project implementation. Specifically, investment projects in the province are basically compliant with the laws on investment and registered contents. The province leaders attach much importance to land compensation and ground clearance in order to support investors to accelerate their projects. This initially builds investor confidence in the locality. Some projects are operating effectively and contributing positively to the provincial budget and employment.
Mining is a potential and advantageous field in province and there are a lot of big mining projects in operation.
To improve investment quality by selectively choosing high-quality investment projects, what policies will the province take for the upcoming time?
The province will follow its investment attraction roadmap. In the first phase, the province will have mechanisms and policies to draw and encourage all investors to do business in all economic sectors in the province, especially in fields that bring quick profitability and investment recovery for investors. In the later phase, the province will restrict investors having small scale, using a lot of resources and energy, or having low scientific and technological content, to focus on major investors with projects of high scientific and technological content, with special priority given to sectors where the province wants to have more investment capital. Dak Nong also has strategies to mobilise all investment resources, including official development assistance (ODA), to invest in infrastructure systems, the most important of which are transportation, power supply and water supply.
Dak Nong also defines its strategic products and sets sector development orientations based on local competitive advantages and potentials to attract domestic and foreign investors. The province also plans to introduce some special incentive policies like setting up land funds to help investors pick the best locations for their investment projects, and supporting the ground clearance and land compensation process.
Could you tell us more about investment priority policies and fields in the present time, as well as in the future?
Since its establishment, Dak Nong province has issued many policies to specify centrally stipulated investment provisions, including preference policies for socialised fields; investment encouragement policies for high-tech agriculture towards 2020 under Decision 01/2013/QD-UBND dated January 2, 2013; and incentive policies for industrial, trade and tourism development support in the province (Decision 21/2011/QD-UBND). Currently, the province has assigned the Department of Industry and Trade to advise on issuing new policies to replace these, because they are somewhat infeasible and lack incentives for investors.
Based on socioeconomic potentials and advantages, the province’s socioeconomic development plans will focus on drawing investment capital into agriculture (hi-tech agriculture projects in Gia Nghia Town, Tuy Duc and Dak Mil districts), industry (mining, agricultural processing, particularly in bauxite supporting industries), tourism (eco-tourism, resort), society (labour training, health care, sports), and infrastructure (transportation, urban infrastructure, industrial zones).
Vietnamese
