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Central economic zone booming
The central economic zone is poised to catch up with its northern and southern counterparts as it attracts increasing amounts of foreign and domestic capital, regional authorities say.
They are also buoyed by the upcoming inauguration of the country’s first oil refinery in Dung Quat.
The key economic zone comprises Da Nang City and the provinces of Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam , Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh.
Over the last eight months, 49 new foreign invested projects have been licensed in the region with a total registered capital of 1.8 billion USD, compared to 1.65 billion USD for the whole of 2007.
The biggest of these projects involves the development of a new urban area with eco-tourism facilities worth more than 1 billion USD. In addition to new investments, existing projects have registered to add capital to expand production. So far this year, four projects have applied to raise an additional capital of 25 million USD.
Authorities say this is evidence that foreign businesses are willing to invest more money in the region to capitalise on its resources for social and economic development plans.
As of last month, the economic zone had hosted 264 foreign invested projects with a registered capital of 5.8 billion USD, averaging about 20 million USD for each project.
On the anvil are several large investment projects involving transport infrastructure, industrial production, and tourism facilities that are awaiting government approval.
The foreign invested projects are making remarkable contributions to the industrialisation and modernisation of the region, and expediting the region’s economic renewal and integration into global economy, authorities say.
The region is also attracting several domestic investment projects, particularly in aquaculture development.
Quang Ngai based Dung Quat Oil Refinery, the first in Vietnam , is said to be on target to begin operations next February.
Regional authorities are confident that this would provide a huge fillip
to economic development in the region, enabling it to catch up with other parts of the country.
VNA
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