The 2013 Mekong Delta Economic Cooperation Forum (MDEC) is slated to take place from November 21-24 in the southern province of Vinh Long.

The event, themed “Mekong Delta towards the Green Economy,” is expected to enable the host locality to attract more investment and propel regional growth, as numerous enterprises gather at the forum.

The provincial authorities will release a list of 47 priority projects in need of investment in infrastructure, industry, urbanisation, housing and commerce from now until 2015. Their collective value is estimated at over 23 trillion VND (1.09 billion USD).

At the event, the province will also sign cooperation deals with Can Tho and Ho Chi Minh City while the management boards of provincial industrial zones will appeal for investment in seven infrastructure development projects.

As part of business incentives, Vinh Long will quicken its administrative procedure overhaul. Meanwhile, the process of approving investment licences will be reduced from 15 to 10 days.

Vinh Long has so far drawn 33 projects worth over 270 million USD. The new Binh Tan and Dong Binh industrial zones and An Dinh industrial cluster, occupying 950 hectares, will be up and running soon and are likely to appeal to investors.

The locality is expected to lure over 53.8 trillion VND (2.56 billion USD) by 2015.-VNA