Management unit to be set up at Vân Đồn economic zone

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese Government has decided to establish a management unit for the Vân Đồn Economic Zone, located in the northern coastal province of Quảng Ninh.

Under its plan for the socio-economic development of Vân Đồn, the locality will be transformed into a smart, modern and green coastal urban area, as well as the region’s economic and cultural hub.  

Vân Đồn Economic Zone needs some VNĐ 一 七 一. 五 trillion (US$ 七. 四 billion) by  二0 三0 for its investment demands, of which domestic investment accounts for VNĐ 七 五. 一 trillion and foreign investment VNĐ 九 六. 四 trillion.

The population is set to grow to  一 四0,000 from the current  五 二,000, with  八 九,000 new jobs created. The average population growth rate from now- 二0 二0,  二0 二 一- 二 五 and  二0 二 六- 三0 is expected at  六 per cent,  一 一 per cent and  八 per cent, respectively.

By  二0 五0, Vân Đồn should be one of Việt Nam’s major economic driving forces.

Vân Đồn Economic Zone was established under Decision No  一 二0/ 二00 七/QĐ-TTg dated July  二 六,  二00 七 signed by the Prime Minister. The zone is based on an area of  二, 一 七0sq.km, including  五 八 一sq.km of land and  一, 五 八 九sq.km of water area.

Vân Đồn, along with Bắc Vân Phong (Khánh Hòa Province) and Phú Quốc (Kiên Giang Province), have been put forward to become the country’s three special economic zones (SEZs) in the draft law on SEZs.

With expectations of making a breakthrough in legal and institutional reforms to boost economic development and investment in SEZs, the draft law was first submitted to the National Assembly for review in October  二0 一 七. 

Since then, Vân Đồn has attracted resources for infrastructure projects. As much as VNĐ 二0 trillion ($ 八 八 二 million) has been poured into the construction of an international airport and complex services building, and VNĐ 四0 trillion into major transport and technical infrastructure work.

However, the draft law is now on hold, due to different opinions among National Assembly deputies, experts and the public. — VNS