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Dung Quat EZ expansion scheme aims to attract investors
With a plan to expand 5 times the Dung Quat economic zone, the zone Management Board expects to attract more domestic and foreign investors.
Many foreign businesses have recently visited the EZ to seek investment opportunities. These include a US business which has registered investment in an export wood product processing cluster, and businesses from the Republic of Korea which plan to invest more than 100 million USD in infrastructure for a 200 ha light industrial park and a 200 ha urban area.
So far the Dung Quat EZ has attracted 161 projects with a total registered capital of over 10 billion USD, including 6.81 billion USD of licensed projects. The 101 remaining projects with a combined capital of 3.27 billion USD have been approved.
To achieve the target of attracting about 12 billion USD by 2010, the EZ needs about 31,000 workers in different industries and services, especially in mechanical engineering and motive power. This year alone, the zone needs 7,000 workers, mainly for the mechanical engineering, garment and wood processing industries.
According to the management board, ground clearance and other preparations for the expansion of Dung Quan EZ have been sped up, which will enable the EZ to house major projects in heavy industries such as oil refinery, petro-chemistry, mechanical engineering and shipbuilding. The expansion also aims to make full use of the Dung Quat deep water port and Chu Lai airport.
Under the plan, the Dung Quat EZ, which currently covers 10,300 ha, will expand to the south, to 50,000 ha. An important part of the expansion scheme is the construction of My Han port in My Han bay, which has a depth ideal for ships of up to 260,000 DWT to enter.
The Dung Quat EZ was established in October 2005 in central Quang Ngai province on the basis of the former Dung Quat industrial zone, with the aim of developing the oil refinery industry, chemistry, heavy industries, and building large deep-water ports.
According to Pham Dinh Khoi, Secretary of Quang Ngai’s Party Committee, about 89 percent of the EZ area have been filled and it is necessary to expand the zone to facilitate operations of existing projects and attract new heavy industrial projects.
VNA
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