(VEN) - Besides implementing the Investment Law and constructing infrastructure, provinces in the Mekong (Cuu Long) Delta are striving to find new ways to attract more domestic and foreign investment by developing policies and improving administrative procedures to guarantee mutual benefits for investors and provinces alike.
As the delta's center, the city of Can Tho has constructed two industrial parks including Tra Noc (300ha) and Hung Phu (474ha). The city is also drafting detail projects for three other industrial parks which have just been approved by the government including Thot Not (600ha), O Mon (600ha) and Bac O Mon (400ha). In addition, as part of a strategic overview for investment in the coming time, the city has issued a project list for 2010 oriented to 2015. The list includes 33 projects with investment capital of VND36.209 billion, equal to US$1.959 million. In order to attract more investment in the city, Can Tho is implementing preferential investment policies, reforming administrative procedures as a one-stop mechanism and shortening the time on granting investment certificates.
Apart from Can Tho, many provinces in the delta are appealing for investment. Bac Lieu Province is an example. Beside carrying out investment policies for provinces with difficult social and economic conditions, the provinces has had policies to support investors such as opening vocational training courses for local people, promoting trade, advertising local products, transferring technologies, investing in infrastructure, facilitating investment brokers and introducing investment project. Like Bac Lieu, Vinh Long Province is giving support to infrastructure construction and training human resources. The province is assisting investors by constructing technical infrastructure outside industrial zones and high-tech zones. If investors choose place to invest by themselves or ask for land to invest in accordance with overall project, people's committees at all levels will help them to calculate site-clearance and resettlement compensation expenses. In addition, the province will withdraw lands from some ineffective industrial parks to create a clean land fund for investors. Domestic investors will be provided with VND150 million in financial support for developing business plans and drafting technical and economic reports.
In Dong Thap, investment policies and preferential policies on tax and credit support particularly have been flexibly realized to bring the most benefits to investors in accordance with legal regulations. The province has created favorable conditions for investors to rapidly finish administrative procedures, easily assess preferential loans, meet demands of space, infrastructure and human resources. Based on government guidelines, Hau Giang Province has made preferential policies such as abolishing or reducing business income tax, repealing or cutting down land rental fees, supporting product advertisement fees, water and electricity consumption expenses, constructing accommodation for laborers, rewarding investment brokers, assisting technical infrastructure development and training human resources. In An Giang Province, leaders are striving to make administrative procedures transparent, simplify complicated formalities or eliminate unnecessary ones, making a contribution to the struggle against corruption and waste, and reducing obstacles for people and businesses.
When the Can Tho Bridge came into use and the southern economic corridor connecting the seaports of Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand is established, Ca Mau province's potential will be unlocked, creating many advantages and changing the face of the province. At that time, Ca Mau, a province in the key economic zone of the Mekong Delta will become a gateway to ASEAN countries. The projects of Khanh An, Hoa Trung, Song Doc, Nam Can industrial zones and An Xuyen, Ward 9 industrial craft production zone have been carried out. The province is attempting to improve the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI). In 2009, Ca Mau ranked 21/63 provinces and cities in terms of PCI and became one of ten provinces of which PCI was raised the fastest. The province pledged to clarify the investment environment and create further favorable conditions to investors who are interested in the province.
In particular in June 2010, Resolution 61/2010/ND-CP encouraging businesses to invest in agriculture and rural areas was approved by the government. According to the resolution, if lands are granted for investors in agriculture by the government, land rental fees for special preference projects will be abolished, with fees for preferential projects being cut by 70 percent and incentive projects halved. Land and water surface rental fees for special preference projects will be repealed from establishment and coming into use, with fees for preference projects being abrogated for the first 15 years following their establishment and incentive projects 11 years. The resolution is expected to attract more investors to invest in the Mekong Delta, an area rich in potential for agricultural production.
Provinces in the Mekong Delta are striving to change their face to stimulate investment and meet the demands of economic growth and international integration in the new development period./.
By Thanh Thanh
|