Border EZs move to grow further

Improved infrastructure and simplified administrative procedures have made border-gate economic zones in the northern provinces of Quang Ninh and Lang Son bordering China stand out in attracting a large amount of goods through the border gates.
Border EZs move to grow further ảnh 1Customs check at Mong Cai border gate (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Improved infrastructure and simplified administrative procedures have made border-gate economic zones in the northern provinces of Quang Ninh and Lang Son bordering China stand out in attracting a large amount of goods through the border gates.

The Mong Cai border gate is among a few that have applied special development mechanisms in Vietnam since 1996. To date, preferential treatment has been used to build an urban area with comprehensive infrastructure for development.

Trade between Vietnam and China through the border gate reached 5-7 billion USD a year on average. About 2.4 million people crossed the gate annually.

According to Nguyen Tien Dung, Vice Chairman of the Mong Cai People’s Committee in Quang Ninh province, the local authority has paid heed to building infrastructure and ports to improve transport capacity.

The authority has mobilised resources from businesses and investors in various mechanisms, especially build-operate-transfer and public-private partnership models for logistics development, he said.

The reduction of custom clearance time and costs, together with efforts to improve infrastructure, has created optimal conditions for businesses compared with other border gates.

An agro-forestry-fishery exchange centre is under construction at the area and this is a step forward for exports to China.

Duong Van Thanh, Chairman of Thanh Dat JSC, said his company is proposing the local authority build a deep water seaport to reduce transportation costs, as goods transported through the sea takes only half of that by land to Cao Bang or Lao Cai provinces.

Meanwhile, the Dong Dang – Lang Son border gate economic zone houses a diversified trade system with 12 border gates, including two international ones.

Over the years, the zone has played an important role in boosting economic development in Lang Son province.

In 2017 alone, the economic zone granted investment certificates to eight projects with registered capital in excess of 150 million USD.

Nguyen Cong Truong, Vice Chairman of the Lang Son People’s Committee said the province is working to link its border gates with Chinese ones to enable smooth goods flow.-VNA
VNA

See more