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VEN) - This is the golden time to invest in the Central Key Economic Zone (CKEZ), Trinh Minh Van, the deputy director of the Central Region Investment Promotion Center, told Vietnam Economic News.
Many experts share the above opinion when assessing the potential of the CKEZ and investment opportunities in this region.
Dr. Nguyen Ba An, the deputy director of the Development Strategy Institute of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said that the CKEZ has a very important position for socioeconomic development in the central region, Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) and the whole country.
The CKEZ is part of the North-South transport backbone with national highways linking the seaports in the central region to Tay Nguyen and Laos, Northeastern Cambodia, Northeastern Thailand and Myanmar via the East-West Corridor. The CKEZ will play the role of a gateway of Tay Nguyen to the sea and other regional countries. Notably, the zone is linked with large economic centers of Vietnam by airway, waterway, land and railway.
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The Government has promulgated Decision 1018/1997/QD-TTg approving the Master Plan for Socioeconomic Development in the CKEZ to 2010. In 2004, the Government promulgated Decision 148/2004/QD-TTg approving a plan aiming to turn the central region into a processing and trade exchange center of the Mekong region and the Asia-Pacific region. Accordingly, the central region concentrates on developing the marine economy, industries, tourism, services, economic zones, industrial parks, logistic and storage facilities. It is projected that by 2025 the CKEZ will have 86 cities with a population of more than eight million.
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Regarding airway, there are in the CKEZ four airports, including two international airports: Phu Bai and Da Nang. Regarding waterway, there are many seaports such as Chan May, Lien Chieu, Tien Sa, Ky Ha, Dung Quat, Quy Nhon, most of which are deepwater seaports that can receive ships with high carrying capacity. The zone is located not very far from international shipping lines. Regarding overland transport, apart from the North-South lifeline routes, there is the East-West Corridor linking the central region to Tay Nguyen and neighbor countries such as Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar. With such transport facilities, the CKEZ can contribute significantly to promoting the exchange of economic relations between Vietnam and other countries in the region and the world.
There are in the CKEZ diverse natural resources - this is a favorable condition for economic development. The zone is home to four cultural and natural heritage sites that have been recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), lots of gulfs and beautiful beaches. This is an advantage for the central region to boost tourism development.
Notably, there are in the CKEZ many urban areas, economic zones and industrial parks, which serve as a driving force for development in the whole region. Specifically, 21 industrial parks are being developed on total area of more than 4,000ha and three economic zones are being formed, creating an impulse for development in the CKEZ.
At a meeting that was held recently in Hoi An to promote investment into the central region, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said that the CKEZ has many advantages for development such as a favorable geographical location, natural resources and cultural heritage sites. To boost socioeconomic development in the region, under the Government's guidelines, the central region will concentrate efforts on promoting production and business, restructuring the economy and attracting investment.
Michael Piro, a representative of Indochina-Land, said that the city of Da Nang in central Vietnam is likened to Phuket of Thailand 10 years ago. He said that 2010 can be called a 'local year' of the CKEZ because all the five localities in the zone, Da Nang, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh, have economic zones and good policies to attract investment. Large investors from the US, the Republic of Korea and Japan are very interested in the central region of Vietnam and so it is expected that foreign investment in this region will increase in the near future./.
By Nguyen Hoa
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