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Central EZs languish without sufficient investment
Several economic zones (EZs) in central provinces have seen investment slow down to a trickle, and officials are blaming sluggish infrastructure construction as well as the global economic downturn.
Almost every province in the area has an EZ that takes up thousands of hectares each, including the Nhon Hoi EZ in Binh Dinh, Van Phong EZ in Khanh Hoa, Nam Phu Yen EZ in Phu Yen, Dung Quat EZ in Quang Ngai, Chu Lai in Quang Nam and Chan May in Thua Thien-Hue.
While Dung Quat EZ has been able to ride on the back of the nation’s first oil refinery to develop strongly, other EZs have attracted nowhere near the investment required to fulfill their designed capacities.
In Binh Dinh Province, the Nhon Hoi EZ was established under a decision by the Prime Minister in 2005 on an area of 12,000 hectares on the Phuong Mai peninsula.
However, several investors with billion-dollar projects had refused to put their money in it after examining the facilities. Until recently, there has not been any significant improvement.
In 2006, the Thi Nai Bridge – then the country’s longest with a length of 2.4 kilometers – was built to cross the Thi Nai lagoon, connecting the EZ with the province’s Quy Nhon Town. The bridge had silenced skeptics who had criticized the project as being unfeasible because of the peninsula’s isolated location.
However, it has still failed to bring in any notable investment into the EZ.
The Nhon Hoi EZ was designed with two sections – a 545-hectare customs-free export processing zone with sea ports; and the other area an industrial zone with the Nhon Hoi Port.
A recent visit by Thanh Nien found titanium mining was likely the only activity in the EZ, with many roads covered with sand, and a water supply system not yet in place.
There is one firm operating there, but only to supply concrete and sewers for infrastructure construction.
The EZ’s center for service, trade, and tourism, located at the north end of the Thi Nai Bridge, has a few gasoline stations and billiard clubs.
“Many investors have shown interest in the future of the EZ,” says Nguyen Ngoc Toan, deputy head of the Nhon Hoi EZ management board. “But to be honest, its infrastructure is still lacking. We will try to complete construction at the earliest possible.”
Toan says the global downturn has barred some investors from planned projects, while local authorities have also refused some projects that threaten the environment.
“A Taiwan corporation has withdrawn from investing in a US$1 billion project in electric and electronic fields,” he says.
Until recently, only 20 projects with a total capital of more than VND16.2 trillion ($954 million) had been approved in the Nhon Hoi EZ, and almost all of these are still under construction.
Choked by bottlenecks
The Chu Lai Open EZ in Quang Nam Province has also attracted little investment and fingers are being pointed at the limited capacity of Ky Ha seaport.
The zone was established at a favored location in the major economic area of central and Central Highlands regions, near Da Nang City and the Dung Quat EZ.
Apart from its proximity to an airport and a seaport, it is also located at the entry point of the Central Highlands area with the national railway passing by it.
Established under a 2003 decision by the Prime Minister, the 32,400- hectare EZ, however, has its sole major investor being the Truong Hai Auto JSC in the North Chu Lai Economic Zone. It also has a few sand processing companies.
The EZ’s Chu Lai airport receives four flights a week, mainly for passengers from Dung Quat EZ in nearby Quang Ngai Province, while the Ky Ha Port remains a bottleneck.
“The port can only handle 5,000- ton vessels, while sea freight vessels are often between 10,000 and 20,000 tons,” says Truong Van Can, director of the port.
“We served only vessels of the Truong Hai Auto JSC and a few small enterprises in the province,” he says, adding that even with this, the port is already over-extended.
Can says the urgent task to improve Chu Lai EZ is to upgrade the port to serve vessels of up to four times higher capacity.
The government should also grant some focus projects to each EZ in the area to ignite development, similar to what was done for the Dung Quat EZ, he adds.
Le Anh Du – Dinh Phu
Thanh nien
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