Investment attraction in Mekong Delta flourishes

Recently, the situation of investment attraction in the Mekong Delta has had positive changes. Many large projects with investment capital from trillions of Vietnamese dong to tens of trillions of Vietnamese dong have landed in the rice granary in the West, creating new directions, contributing to promoting economic development.
Wind turbine construction in Bac Lieu Province. (Photo: SGGP)
Wind turbine construction in Bac Lieu Province. (Photo: SGGP)
Since the beginning of the year until now, Bac Lieu Province has become a bright spot in the Mekong Delta when it has successfully called for investment from many domestic and foreign enterprises for long-term business. The People's Committee of Bac Lieu Province has issued investment policy decisions and approved investment policies for 25 domestic projects with a total registered capital of over VND17.71 trillion, up 12 projects and eight times higher in value compared to the same period last year.

Especially, in early 2020, the People's Committee of Bac Lieu Province gave the investment policy decision and the investment registration certificate for the 3,200MW Bac Lieu Liquefied Natural Gas Power Plant project, with a total investment of US$4 billion. This is the largest direct investment project with 100 percent of foreign capital (FDI) in the Mekong Delta ever. Currently, the project is urgently completing the necessary procedures to negotiate a power purchase agreement with Vietnam Electricity. The first generator of 750MWs is expected to start construction in early 2021.

The representative of the project’s investor - Delta Offshore Energy Pte. Ltd. - said that there are about 40 corporations, financial corporations, contractors, and investors participating in the project chain. He also informed that the project would provide a sustainable integrated energy system and environmentally friendly power source with high reliability and affordability. Leader of Bac Lieu Provincial People's Committee emphasized that this is a key project of the province, playing the role of creating motivation for economic restructuring. The project creates thousands of direct and indirect jobs and trillions of Vietnamese dong in taxes of all kinds when the plant is put into operation. The project is the driving force to promote socio-economic development and renew the local growth model.

In Long An Province, in terms of FDI investment, in October, the province issued investment certificates for three projects with registered capital of $17.24 million and ten projects with additional investment capital of $45.86 million. From the beginning of this year to now, Long An Province has granted investment certificates to 67 FDI projects, with a registered capital of $264.14 million. Processing and manufacturing industry, supporting industry, medical equipment manufacturing, electronic component manufacturing, consumer goods processing and assembling, and warehouse and logistics services were invested most by enterprises.

The province has carried out several solutions to remove difficulties and problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic for enterprises to soon restore and promote production and business. Thanks to that, the production and business activities of enterprises in the province have been gradually restored in recent months, bit by bit returning to normal production. Many groups of industrial products have seen increasing output, such as processing and manufacturing, said Mr. Huynh Van Son, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment of Long An Province.
Investment attraction in Mekong Delta flourishes ảnh 1 Investors learn about key products of Dong Thap Province. (Photo: SGGP)
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the reason that makes investment attraction in this area better is that besides the advantages of a key agricultural area and improved technical and economic infrastructure, the efforts of provinces in improving the investment and business environment is also a factor that increases the attraction of investment capital.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thong, Acting Director of the Department of Planning and Investment of Tien Giang Province, said that the point of view of the province on investment attraction is to synchronize the development of two planned industrial zones in Tan Phuoc District and Go Cong Town. Besides, it will speed up the development of urban projects under the approved housing development program, combined with commercial and service works in major urban centers of the province, prioritize tourism infrastructure projects, taking advantage of tourism along the Tien River, and concentrate resources and clean land funds to develop projects of agricultural product processing and agriculture using advanced technology. In 2021, Tien Giang will strive to attract more than 40 projects, with a total investment of more than VND17 trillion.

In Ca Mau Province, in Khanh An Industrial Park in U Minh District with a total area of more than 235 hectares currently, the land fund is not much, while the demand of secondary investors is fairly high. Facing the above situation, investors and joint venture partners in Ho Chi Minh City have proposed to the provincial People's Committee to consider the investment policy in expanding this industrial park. The leader of the Economic Zone Authority of Ca Mau Province said that it reported the above proposal to the provincial People's Committee. Besides, the provincial People's Committee has also assigned the provincial Land Fund Development Center to measure and make plans to clear 50 hectares of land in Hoa Trung Industrial Park in Cai Nuoc District to create a clean land fund to attract investors in the coming time.

Similarly, Bac Lieu Province has also been focusing on strengthening the linkage in the Mekong Delta region to expand cooperation with many provinces and cities, especially with Ho Chi Minh City, to attract investment resources for the socio-economic development of the province. It also inspects and urges granted projects and review projects that have already had investment policies but have not implemented or implemented slowly to draw solutions to remove difficulties.

Experts said that after the pandemic, there would be a strong investment shift, and Vietnam is an ideal destination for foreign investors. This is a good opportunity for the Mekong Delta to make breakthroughs by creating an attractive environment, the dynamism, and transparency of the government, encouraging investors to pour large  investment capital into long-term business. 

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