The island district of Phu Quoc in t he southern province of Kien Giang has attracted 22 new investment projects totalling 33.4 trillion VND (1.57 billion USD) so far this year, bringing the total number of projects operating in the district to 194.

The figures were reported at a conference on investment promotion for the island held by the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region on July 28 in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho.

In particular, after the Prime Minister gave the green light to a Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park in Phu Quoc, Kien Giang authorities have set up an advisory team for investment attraction and development on the island.

Chairman of Kien Giang provincial People’s Committee Le Van Thi reported on the progress of key projects in Phu Quoc, with more than 70 percent of the workload completed on the 51.5 km South-North axis road worth almost 2.5 trillion VND. For the 99.5-km road running around the island, one third of the total investment of 3 trillion VND has been disbursed so far, while projects on supplying clean water, building breakwater dykes and upgrading the An Thoi fishing port are keeping with schedule.

According to deputy head of the Steering Committee Nguyen Phong Quang, the committee and Kien Giang authorities will continue investment promotion activities through meetings with domestic and foreign investors and addressing difficulties facing investors in deploying their projects in Phu Quoc.

Phu Quoc Island, dubbed the Pearl Island in the southern sea, is a tourist hub in the southern province of Kien Giang.-VNA