Making Tra Vinh a Key Area for Marine Economic Development

Tra Vinh is a coastal province in the Mekong Delta which has a long coastline of over 65 kilometres convenient for fishing, aquaculture and raising seafood. The total area of fishing covers ​​over 51,600 hectares, in which over 29,000 hectares is for raising tiger prawns. Total production of annual aquatic products reaches averagely 163,000 tones. In aquaculture production, tiger shrimp account for 19,000 tonnes. The average output of fish reaches 52,000 tonnes per year, of which catfish, crab and clam reaches 19,800, 8,700 and 1,800 tonnes per year, respectively.

 

Mr Dong Van Lam, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said that the marine economic development potential of Tra Vinh is very big. To turn potential into reality, under the overall plan on socio-economic development of Tra Vinh province towards 2020, the Action Plan of the government and the Provincial People’s Committee on implementing the Resolution worked out by the 10th Party Congress “Vietnam marine strategy towards 2020." The province is focusing on planning and investing in economic and technical infrastructure for the development of marine economy. First of all, there are projects such as flow work for large -tonnage ships on the Hau River and Duyen Hai (Coastal) Power Centre which can attract investment in building seaports and service industries. Besides, Dinh An Economic Zone (with the area of 39,020 hectares, which is 15,403.7 hectares in phase one) is developed into a service centre near the port covering coastal tourism and industry and integrating with key industries such as thermal power, petrochemical, shipping services, travel services, shipbuilding and other supporting industries.

 

In a marine economy development strategy, Tra Vinh is determined to develop the fisheries sector stronger in both fishing and processing. To increase fishing efficiency, Mr Lam shared that Tra Vinh is making supporting policy which allows the construction and modernisation of new boat for offshore fishing associated with well-organised logistics of fisheries to reduce production costs and increase fishing efficiency. The province will also put into use two storm shelters for fishing boats in Cung Hau and Dinh An port, invest in the construction of infrastructure in Lang Chim fishing port, Dinh An port and fishing villages of Dinh An, My Long, Dong Hai and Vinh Bao, expand aquaculture, step by step construct intensive aquaculture areas in industrial method attached to the priority of seed production.

 

In addition, the province reorganised the manufacturing serving marine and coastal economic development. In marine exploitation, the province establishes collaborative or marine collaborative to reduce manufacturing costs. In aquaculture, agriculture, forestry, processing, depending on the characteristics of the production model, the province promotes and replicates economic model farms, cooperatives to bring land together to form resource area to do major production.

 

Besides the efforts to attract investment in the construction of fish processing plants for export, Tra Vinh aims to create all favorable conditions for seafood businesses to form growing associations or corporations in consistence with development trend. The province encourages the restoration of the cottage-industry basis and traditional villages such as salt and seafood processing. Tra Vinh also upgraded Duyen Hai markets and markets of communes and coastal towns and built wholesale market in Huu Long commune (Duyen Hai District), Dinh An market (Tra Cu district) to ensure the large required goods trade to develop marine and coastal economy of the province. At the same time, the province promotes the attracting of investment to boost tourism development in locations having such conditions as Ba Dong, My Long beach and famous coastal dunes. Investment in tourism and hotel infrastructure is invested in. Tourism planning in the Tien and Hau rivers is also made.

 

To improve the ecological environment and to develop tourism, the province focuses on restoring coastal mangrove forests, encourages people to plan forests in accordance with each and plan coastal protective forests. Tra Vinh province reviews, plans and implements effectively plans for the area ratio between shrimp ponds and ​​afforestation area. Particularly, the area from the coast back into sand dune adjacent is used on purposes of coastal protection forests (excluding residential land, coastal agricultural land, tourism area natural area having clams and oysters).