The central coastal region of Vietnam should enhance its sea tourism potential and natural resources to attract investment and development, said Nguyen Ba Thanh, Head of the Central Coastal Regional Coordination Board cum Head of the Central Internal Affairs Committee, said on March 22.
The central coastal region of Vietnam should enhance its sea tourism
potential and natural resources to attract investment and development,
said Nguyen Ba Thanh, Head of the Central Coastal Regional Coordination
Board cum Head of the Central Internal Affairs Committee, said on March
22.
Thanh told a two-day conference on investment in the
central coastal region yesterday that there was great potential for
socio-economic development but achievements so far were below
expectations.
Thanh said the region needs to work out measures
to tackle problems related to infrastructure, incentive policies and
mechanisms, and human resources.
Ministry of Planning and
Investment Development Strategy Institute director Bui Tat Thang said
the most prominent advantage of the region is sea tourism.
Along 1,400km of coastline, nine provinces in the region stretching from
Thua Thien-Hue to Binh Thuan boast beautiful beaches, many islands and
four world cultural heritage sites.
The region also has
abundant natural resources such as titan, iron, aluminum and oil,
especially oil with its spearhead projects of Dung Quat and Vung Ro.
To date, six economic zones and 34 industrial zones had been
established and connected to the seaport and domestic and international
airports.
Statistics showed investments in the region during
2007-12 hit 605 trillion VND (28.8 billion USD) with an average
year-on-year growing rate of 11 percent.
As of 2012, the region
attracted 709 foreign direct investment projects with a total
registered capital of 25.25 billion USD, making up 12.14 percent of the
country's registered FDI.
The average gross domestic product
growth rate per capita was 12.5 percent in 2006-11, nearly doubling the
country's average.
Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment
Dang Huy Dong told the conference that enhancing the regional link is
the optimal solution to turn the region into a single economic space to
exploit the competitive advantages of each locality.
He urged
the provinces to focus on completing infrastructure in economic and
industrial zones, providing support to investors by speeding up land
clearances, and attracting investment corresponding to regional
competitiveness.
Head of the Consultative Group for Development
of the Central Region Tran Du Lich said connectivity between the
deep-water port, airport and economic and industrial zones also needs to
be enhanced to reduce transport costs.
He said mechanisms and policies should focus on investments in key industries.
At the two-day conference, investors' commitment in the region reached
a total value of over 30.8 billion USD. Nine projects in regional
provinces and cities received investment licences worth a combined value
of nearly 197 million USD. The Bank for Investment and Development of
Vietnam also signed credit contracts with enterprises totalling about
221 million USD.-VNA