Ha Giang Aims to Turn Difficulty into Development Advantage

Ha Giang is a province with vast forest area and varied material sources. It has large tea material zone, especially Shan Tuyet tea. Notably, Ha Giang owns plentiful mineral resources with huge reserves of precious metals such as iron, antimony, lead-zinc, mangan, and gemstone, as well as river and stream systems whose slope is a key advantage for hydropower. In connection with tourism, the mineral industry and hydroelectric projects, construction will be a mainstay in calling for and using capital. However, issues of planning and developing sustainable industry are setting big challenges for Ha Giang.

 

Evaluating the industrial development potential of Ha Giang province, Mr Nguyen Dinh Bay, Head of Ha Giang Department of Trade and Industry said: “To turn difficulty into a development advantage, for the past years, provincial authorities have been active in adopting policies to promote the economy and attract investment. The Department of Trade and Industry consulted the provincial People’s Committee in planning activities to create legal background for investors seeking investment opportunities in industry.”

 

With such attempts, by the end of 2010, Ha Giang Industry and Trade tackled difficulties and gained important achievements: Industrial production value was over VND 1,000 billion, in real price estimates, increasing 24 percent against the previous year; the provincial market was stable; total social retail goods circulation was estimated at VND 2,428 billion, increasing nearly 16 percent against the previous year; total import and export turnover at the border gate were estimated US $1,93.5 million, in which the latter accounted for US $174.72 million, rising over 60 percent year on year.

 

The province plans 70 hydroelectric projects with total installed capacity of 742 MW. To have such achievements, in 2010, the Department of Industry and Trade consulted provincial People’s Committee to propose two additional hydroelectricity projects, Song Mien 5 and Song Mien 6; approved hydroelectric planning phase 2 and added plans on the Lo River and Chay River. It not only brought about high economic efficiency but also attracted large local labour force. When being put into operation, hydroelectric stations will make stable contribution to National Budget of approximately VND 300 million per MW per year, as well as create good ecological environment for the region and regulate water for irrigation activities, reducing natural destruction in the stormy season.

 

In the mineral industry, there are currently 46 mines and mine points with iron, mangan, lead, zinc, antimony, tin, volfram, kaolin, and mica, with licenses assigned to 36 enterprises operating in mineral exploitation. Turnover in 2010 reached hundreds of billions and contributed to National Budget tens of billions. Enterprises created jobs for thousands of labourers with income ranging from VND 800,000 to 3.2 million per one per month.

 

Despite achievements, Ha Giang Industry and Trade has to face many challenges. One notable issue is the slow progress of some projects. Concerning this matter, Mr Nguyen Dinh Bay said that the main reason was incorrect options for investors due to poor appraisal activities. In addition, many investors met difficulty in capital access at banks, which resulted in slow progress. Some projects had land clearance problems, which caused obstacles for investors. To address these limitations, in the coming time, Ha Giang will coordinate better among authorities and the industries themselves to build comprehensive investment attraction procedures.

 

Production and business activities of industry and trade have created a stable background for provincial development in coming years. To meet set goals, industry continues to function better in consulting the provincial People’s Committee to tackle difficulties for mineral exploitation and manufacturing enterprises to consume domestic and foreign products; consulting in making policies to assist small and medium enterprise in industrial production activities; encouraging enterprises to concentrate resources, increase technological content in industrial products, especially export products of high value added tax, high turnover.