Vietnam Ranks Coastal Economic Zones

June 14, 2012 Posted by Vietnam Briefing Reading Time: 3 minutes

By Tran Que Chi

Jun. 14 – Under a classification scheme conducted by Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) in order to prioritize investment, Chu Lai in Quang Nam and Dung Quat in Quang Ngai have been listed as the country’s first-rate coastal economic zones.

Mr. Vu Dai Thang, head of the Economic and Industrial Zones Management Department under the ministry, said that MPI has set five criteria to evaluate coastal economic zones as follows:

Having a seaport to transport goods
Being in close proximity to the airport
Having a driving-force project
Attracting strong investment flow
Occupying strategic locations for regional economic development

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Accordingly, Chu Lai and Dung Quat take the top spot on the list of 15 such zones nationwide with scores of 1,000 each, out of a maximum 1,100. The full list is as follows:

Chu Lai in Quang Nam Province with 1,100 points
Dung Quat in Quang Ngai Province with 1,100 points
Dinh Vu-Cat Hai in Haiphong City with 880 points
Nghi Son in Thanh Hoa Province with 825 points
Vung Ang in Ha Tinh Province with 825 points
Phu Quoc Island offshore Kien Giang Province with 805 points
Chan May-Lang Co in Thua Thien-Hue Province with 775 points
Van Phong in Khanh Hoa Province with 775 points
Van Don in Quang Ninh Province with 675 points
Nhon Hoi in Binh Dinh Province with 665 points
Dong Nam Nghe An in Nghe An Province with 590 points
Nam Can in Ca Mau Province with 590 points
Hon La in Quang Binh Province with 540 points
Nam Phu Yen in Phu Yen Province with 540 points
Dinh An in Tra Vinh Province with 500 points

With these results, economic zones with high scores will enjoy more incentives in the form of state investment from next year. The beneficiaries will be Chu Lai, Dung Quat, Dinh Vu-Cat Hai, Nghi Son, Vung Ang, and Phu Quoc.

Mr. Thang said that the selection of good coastal economic zones was just a solution to allocate existing resources suitably. The ministry is collecting opinions of relevant agencies and experts to develop policies for the zones.

Since Chu Lai, the first coastal economic zone, was established in 2003, there are now 15 economic zones in total, with two in the Red River Delta, ten in the central coastal region and three in the southern region. The coastal economic zones have mobilized the total capital of nearly VND250 trillion as of the end of last year. The Chu Lai, Dung Quat and Nghi Son economic zones have virtually finished their infrastructure facilities.

Besides, the economic zones have so far attracted US$31 billion from both foreign direct investment and local investment with a total leasing area of over 20,000 hectares. However, there are not enough conditions to evaluate the business efficiency of these zones, according to MPI.

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