5:43:41 PM | 11/5/2011
Thai Nguyen province is in the mountainous midland region of Northeast Vietnam. North of Hanoi, the province has a natural area of nearly 3,500 km2 and a population of 1.2 million. It is the third largest education centre in the country and is an economic, political and cultural centre of Northeast Vietnam. The province has annual economic growth of 12 percent. The year 2009 presented numerous difficulties and challenges, with the worst global economic crisis in 70 years, but, like the entire nation, Thai Nguyen province social and economic development continued, and the people’s material and spiritual life improved. The economic structure continued to shift positively. Economic growth met the revised target. The province’s gross domestic product (GDP) topped VND16,000 billion. GDP per capita reached almost VND15 million, an increase of VND2.5 million from 2008. Social and economic infrastructure was strengthened; culture and society significantly progressed; and political security and social order continued to be maintained. Basic social and economic indicators generally met or exceeded the plans.
Investment advantages and potential
Thai Nguyen province has a very favourable traffic system, about 50 km from Noi Bai International Airport, 200 km from the Chinese border, and 200 km from Hai Phong Port. It is also a meeting point of national rail, road and water networks like National Road 3 from Hanoi to Bac Kan province; Cao Bang province and Vietnam - China border; National Road 1B to Lang Son province; and National Road 37 to Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces; Da Phuc - Hai Phong river ways; and Thai Nguyen - Hanoi - Lang Son railway.
The province supplies full electricity, water, post and telecommunications services for all investors. The power grid is supported by national power plants and provincial thermal generators. Water plants are capable of supplying 100,000 cubic metres of clean water. Telecommunications service coverage is expanded to all communes.
The province’s abundant human resources can satisfy all employment requirements of investors. The province generates jobs for 20,000 workers a year and can export many young labourers, particularly for the electricity, metallurgy, engineering and information technology sectors.
Thai Nguyen province has reserved about 1,200 ha for the construction of industrial zones. Currently, the province has three major industrial parks (320-ha Song Cong Industrial Park, 300-ha South Pho Yen Industrial Park and 200-ha Diem Thuy Phu Binh Industrial Park), and nearly 30 agricultural and industrial complexes with a combined area of over 400 ha. In the coming time, Thai Nguyen will devote some 3,000 ha of land to building four industrial zones in the south and the west of the province.
Thai Nguyen is endowed with good climate and soil; thus, it has high potential for agricultural and forestry development. Thai Nguyen tea, especially Tan Cuong Tea, is very famous in Vietnam. The province has over 15,000 ha of tea, ranking second in the country, and more than 30 tea processing plants. Thai Nguyen is building a high-yield and high-quality specialty tea zone with loans from Asian Development Bank (ADB). The province is attracting investors to process tea for domestic consumption and export with many attractive incentives.
Natural forests in the province cover 73,383 ha, along with more than 40,000 ha of planted forest. Thus, the province has enough timber for wood and paper industries.
At present, Thai Nguyen has 15,500 ha of fruit trees, including more than 8,000 hectares producing fruit. The province is attracting investors in fruit processing to help farmers to sell the products they harvest.
The hilly area is a good ground for planting industrial crops, fruit trees and developing animal husbandry. Thai Nguyen has a milk processing facility in Pho Yen district where the cattle herd is expanding to feed the dairy demand. The province particularly encourages investors to invest in cow and lean pig husbandry.
Thai Nguyen has large reserves of minerals, with many varieties present. This is a great comparative advantage for the development of metallurgical and mining industries.
Thai Nguyen province has the second largest coal reserve in the country, estimated to reach 90 million tonnes. Therefore, Cao Ngan thermal power plant is being built in Thai Nguyen City, the province capital. Iron ores are being exploited at Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Joint Stock Corporation (TISCO). Titanium reserves are estimated at 18 million tonnes. Ferrous metals that are present include tin, lead, zinc, tungsten, gold, copper, nickel, mercury and other substances. Currently, tin has been mined and exported. Tungsten ore in Dai Tu district, now being surveyed and explored by foreign companies, is projected to be a world-class reserve. The province also has many kinds of materials for producing construction materials like cement and paving stones.
Thai Nguyen province also has rich potential to develop various kinds of tourism, such as ecological tourism, resorts and amusement centres.
Optimistic results
According to economic experts, Thai Nguyen’s advantages will improve after the 61 km 4-lane National Road 3 linking Hanoi and Thai Nguyen is built. The VND8,100 billion highway, designed for 100 km per hour speeds, is scheduled for completion in 2013. Travel time between Thai Nguyen and Noi Bai International Airport and Hai Phong Port will be dramatically shortened. So, this is a good time to start investment projects in Thai Nguyen before the National Road 3 and connecting roads are open to traffic. Many big investors have kicked off projects in Thai Nguyen.
According to the Thai Nguyen Department of Planning and Investment, the province has licensed more than 200 investment projects, with pledged capital of over VND100 trillion since 2007. Operational projects have given urban, rural and mountainous areas a new face. Particularly, many investors are leading corporations in the country. For instance, Yen Binh Investment and Development Joint Stock Company invested in a 7,200-ha construction project; Asia - Pacific Joint Stock Company planned a 3,300-ha project; and Long Viet Joint Stock Company invested in a 560-ha project. Investors are very interested in building commercial centres, luxury hotels and urban residential zones in Thai Nguyen province. Several large-scale innovative projects have been licensed, particularly Nui Coc Lake tourist site project, which includes roads that link industrial zones and surrounding centres with the tourist site.
The good results in attracting investment capital are attributed to Thai Nguyen’s efforts to improve the investment environment: Creating the best conditions for investors to implement investment projects by applying single-window administrative mechanisms; offering low land rentals in addition to general investment preferences and incentives provided by the Government of Vietnam; and supporting investors to clear investment sites, train workers, and build infrastructure and housing for their workers.
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