(VOVworld) – Located in the key southern economic hub, Long An province is the link between HCMC and Mekong Delta provinces. It borders Cambodia and has a major border gate economic zone. Using these advantages, Long An has designed a strategy to lure more domestic and foreign investment and improved the local investment environment toward sustainable socio-economic growth.
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| Workers at Thinh Phat Electric Cables Manufacturing Company in the Thinh Phat Industrial Park, Ben Luc district. (Photo: baolongan.vn) |
Long An now has 28 industrial parks covering an area of about 10,000 hectares. Thirty-seven countries and territories have directly invested in nearly 1,300 projects in Long An with a total registered capital of 6.3 billion USD.
Long An currently leads the Mekong Delta in foreign investment attraction and ranks 12th out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide in FDI attraction.
The province’s recent achievements are attributed to its reforms in administrative procedures and the efforts to create conditions in which investors can feel secure doing business.
Long An’s geographic location and resources are favorable for developing industry and services. In particular, its land reserve for industrial development is quite large - 13,500 hectares – and it has a relatively well-equipped infrastructure.
To lure more investors, says Dr. Do Thien Anh Tuan of Fulbright University Vietnam, Long An should promote infrastructure development in industrial areas and complete the transportation infrastructure linking Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces.
It should also combine its development strategy with the region’s development plan, and local authorities should strongly support investors in handling difficulties, according to Tuan.
“Long An still has a poor road infrastructure which creates a bottleneck preventing Long An from connecting to Ho Chi Minh City and becoming a true buffer zone between the agricultural and industrial regions,” said Tuan. “The business community needs to think there is no geographical barrier between Long An and Ho Chi Minh City.”
Long An has been working hard to attract more investment through a strong commitment to improving the local investment environment and considering entrepreneurs an important part of the province’s economy and its economic restructuring of the industrial sector.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at a recent conference on investment promotion in Long An that Long An’s locating in the Mekong Delta region, is a strong advantage for developing its agriculture.
He added: “The province should further improve its investment and business environment, promote dialogue with businesses, and be determined to build a constructive, incorruptible government which serves businesses. A good investment environment will naturally attract investors to come do business. In addition, provincial leaders should organize regular dialogues with the business community to help them quickly solve problems.”
Long An is poised to make breakthroughs by 2020 toward becoming an industrial center.
Prime Minister Phuc has asked the province to combine its development master-planning with the region's economic development plan.
“One of the top priorities is to link with HCMC and Long An authorities should promote this process. And Ho Chi Minh City should cooperate with Long An to connect Long An’s road system to Ho Chi Minh City, Mekong Delta provinces, and Long An Port,” according to the government leader.