Van Don EZ to grow into economic hub hinh anh 1A corner of Quang Ninh province (Photo: cafef.vn)

Quang Ninh (VNS/VNA) - The Van Don Economic Zone (EZ) in the northern province of Quang Ninh will be developed into a dynamic economic hub with a focus on tourism development and production of high-quality products and services and an international trade centre for the region.

This is part of general adjustment tasks for the construction planning of Van Don EZ until 2040 approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The planning also includes building the EZ into one of the driving forces for the country’s economic development and one of the most liveable cities in the Asia-Pacific region.

The planning scope will cover over 2,171sq.km, including the natural area of Van Don district, of which more than 581sq.km is land and the remainder sea.

The total population is expected to reach 300,000-500,000 by 2040.

The PM asked relevant ministries and agencies to evaluate conditions such as topographic features, climate, hydrology and geology, as well as the natural and tourism resources of Van Don and its surrounding regions that would have an impact on the economic development of the EZ.

A general assessment on the socio-economic development of Quang Ninh province and Van Don EZ is also needed, including reviewing the state of development of key sectors; population statistics, occupational structure and employment rate (in the last five years) and analysing trends in population development and problems caused by urbanisation.

The PM also asked for the evaluation of technical and environmental infrastructure, including transport, water and electricity supply, waste water drainage and solid waste treatment within the plan.

Regarding socio-economic infrastructure, the plan will include industry, services, tourism, office buildings, housing, health care, education, culture and sports in order to meet the needs of the EZ and surrounding areas in line with different development stages.

The development of socio-economic infrastructure would provide easy access for local citizens, tourists and workers at the EZ, according to the PM.

The Van Don EZ needs around 70.2 billion USD by 2050 for its investment demands, according to the provincial People’s Committee. The province will mobilise investment from all economic sectors including the State budget, the private sector and foreign direct investment.

Under the socio-economic development plan for the economic zone until 2030, the economic zone would reach Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of 1.98 billion USD and GRDP per capita of 12,242 USD in 2030, which would be four times higher than the expected level in 2020. By 2050, the EZ’s GRDP would reach more than 21.8 billion USD and GRDP per capita would be 43,688 USD.

The province said the economic zone could create jobs for 106,000 people by 2030, including 37,000 jobs in the tourism sector; 7,000 in service; 14,000 in production and logistics and 48,000 in other sectors.

Quang Ninh is offering various incentives and preferential mechanisms to encourage investors to invest in economic zones (EZs), industrial parks (IPs) and border economic zones (BEZs) in the province. 

At present, the province has 11 industrial parks, one coastal economic zone (Van Don) and three planned border economic zones, which are located in 11 districts, towns and cities. They cover a total area of more than 368,000 ha, or 30.2 percent of the province’s area. 

Doing business in Quang Ninh has become easier in recent years, thanks to local authorities’ efforts to simplify administrative procedures.

The northern coastal province has an automatic customs monitoring system and has digitalised many administrative procedures. 

It has simplified procedures related to business registration and construction licensing, reducing time and money for enterprises. 

These efforts have helped reduce time of customs clearance for imported goods to only 24 hours instead of 39 hours as previously. 

Meanwhile, the time for individuals and organisarions to complete procedures to start business is six days, a cut of three quarters of the time compared with regulations in Government Resolution 19. Meanwhile, the time for granting construction permits is no more than 52 days, 68 days less than regulations in Government Resolution 19.

Thanks to the locality’s efforts to cut time spent processing administrative procedures, the locality’s investment environment has improved remarkably. 

In 2018, Quang Ninh granted and adjusted investment licences for 50 projects with total registered capital of more than 23.6 trillion VND (over 1 billion USD).-VNA

VNA