Spur for Central Highlands growth

Published: 06/09/2009 05:00

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LookAtVietnam – The government will provide big incentives to help boost socio-economic development in the Central Highlands provinces,

Work on the Plei Krong hydroelectricity project is underway in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum.

Speaking at the first-ever Central Highlands Investment Promotion Forum, in Buon Ma Thuot city, Trong said “The government pledges to grant big incentives for investors who come to develop the area.”

The Central Highlands consists of five provinces – Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Lam Dong with an area of 54.700sq.km or 16.6 per cent of the whole nation.

In recent years, the five central highland provinces had gained remarkable and socio-economic achievements, but they were still underdeveloped, he said.

Since 2001, these provinces have only attracted 110 foreign direct investment projects with total investment of US$385 million and 4 per cent of national Official Development Assistance (ODA) capital or $900 million.

In the same period, there have been 1,000 local projects, most of them hydropower worth VND104 trillion ($6,5 billion) but one-third was from the State budget.

“The reason for slow development is poor infrastructure and the lack of quality human resources,” the Minister of Public Security and head of the Steering Committee of the Central Highlands, General Le Hong Anh said.

At the forum, the Ministry of Investment and Planning in co-operation with the five provinces introduced 120 projects worth a total $5.6 billion in the areas of industry, energy, agricultural processing, services, and infrastructure and transportation projects including the 189km Dau Giay – Lien Khuong highway and the 84km Da Lat – Thap Cham railway.

Deputy Minister of Investment and Planning Nguyen Bich Dat said the five provinces have to cooperate to help the region tap its potential.

He also asked the Government to approve the upgrade and expansion of airports in the region, including Lien Khuong airport in Lam Dong province and Buon Ma Thuot airport.

Tran Bac Ha, general director of the Investment and Development Bank of Viet Nam main sponsor for the forum, suggested more government incentives such as tariff exemptions and an increase in land use rights from 50 to 70 years to attract investment.

He also expressed concern about the system of vocational schools in the Central Highlands, saying they were inadequate to meet State corporations’ demands for around 12,000-14,000 new workers in the region.

“The Government should make vocational training more practical to solve the problem,” he said.

He pointed out that the low level of development in the provinces was due to the distance from seaports and major cities, winding mountain roads and limited flights.

Ha also reiterated the need for the Government to work closely with neighbouring Lao and Cambodian governments in economic co-operation, especially on rubber planting and hydropower development in the border area.

“The master plan for tourism in the region should also connect to sea tourism in central provinces,” he concluded.

Takashi Fujiya, director of Japanese-based MS BIO ENERGY INC, one of 13 international enterprises taking part in the forum, was very positive about future investment and applauded the Government’s efforts to invite foreign investors to the region.

“I believe in the near future, the investment environment here will significantly change and more foreign investors will come,” he said.

Potential investors

The Central Highlands has potential for investors as it is in the centre of mountainous southern Indochina, linking with Laos and Cambodia, having transportation routes through the coastal provinces, and international border gates on the East – West corridor and is not far from deep water seaports including Dung Quat, Chan May and Nhon Hoi.

The two million ha of forest that covers more than half the region is one of its major resources, three-quarters of the forestry area is basaltsoil – the best ranked soil in the world for forestry.

It has more than 90 per cent or an estimated 4.5 billion tonnes of the country’s bauxite resources and in terms of hydropower the mountainous terrain gives it 22 per cent of national water power capacity or 15 billion KWh per year.

Attractive natural landscapes, cultural and historical sites and heritage with 47 different ethnic minority cultures make the potential for tourism huge in the Central Highlands. The Gong culture has been accredited by UNESCO as “intangible heritage of the human-being.”

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

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