Quang Ngai strategises its future

Quang Ngai province boasts 30 seaports in operation, with an output of about 45 million tonnes per year. Among them, the Dung Quat port possesses a strategic location in the middle of Vietnam. It is also directly connected with important traffic routes such as the National Highway 1A, the North-South railway, the Danang-Quang Ngai expressway, and routes connected with Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand.

The port plays an important role as a major logistical hub in the Dung Quat Economic Zone (EZ) and for nearby provinces, promoting cargo transportation nationwide and global transport network. Therefore, the province is now proposing to adjust its master planning to increase the exploitation capacity of the strategic port up to 90 million tonnes per year.

The Dung Quat EZ, covering an area of over 45,000 hectares, is one of the five national coastal EZs with priority to invest in infrastructure and offer the highest incentives to pull in high-quality investors and manufacturers in refining, petrochemicals, and energy, creating opportunities to engage strategic financiers.

Economist Tran Dinh Thien stated that the development of Quang Ngai province cannot be separated from the Dung Quat EZ, one of the first marine EZs in Vietnam to be planned for the petrochemical and heavy industry.

“The presence of Vietnam’s first oil refinery in the EZ has created a huge attraction for capital flows, including from Doosan Heavy Industries in South Korea and the Hoa Phat Steel factory. Their success has created momentum for the province as well as shaped the development direction for the coming years,” Thien said.

Nguyen Van Trong, director of the Quang Ngai Department of Planning and Investment, said that the province holds an important position in the eyes of domestic and foreign backers, and takes creating a healthy investment environment as the top criterion.

“The consensus of the administrative apparatus along with the strategic decisions of the provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee have created a trustworthy image for Quang Ngai,” Trong said.

Furthermore, the province’s strategic location makes it easy to access Quang Nam’s Chu Lai airport and Chu Lai Open EZ. The connection between Dung Quat and Chu Lai will be further promoted to form a key industrial centre of the central coastal region, and contribute to create a driving force for the development of the region as well.

The best conditions

According to Trong, Quang Ngai has been creating strong attraction for capital flows. Explaining this, Trong said that, along with the Dung Quat oil refinery, Doosan heavy Industries, and Hoa Phat Steel, the presence of VSIP Quang Ngai is a crucial factor in creating an investment environment for the land.

Additionally, Quang Ngai is also developing a synchronous, modern, and convenient logistics system to become a multimodal transport and transit centre connecting the central region, the Central Highlands, and other Southeast Asian countries, as well as a gateway for transporting goods across the East Sea.

Funding opportunities in the province will open wider and wider when the locality extends infrastructure to create an economic framework as a strategic vision.

Nguyen Phong, director of the Quang Ngai Department of Transport, said that the locality will study and fund the construction of the Quang Ngai-Kon Tum Expressway when it is added to the National Road Network Planning, ensuring the conditions for resource allocation and current regulations, in order to increase connectivity in Central Highlands region in general.

The expressway will open up opportunities for trade connection for both the Central Highlands and the central coast. This expressway is proposed to have four lanes and a speed of up to 100km per hour. With the initial estimate, the venture is to cost $1.85 billion and will be implemented in phases, of which the Quang Ngai-Mang Den section will be built before 2030, at a cost of $954 million.

According to Phong, Quang Ngai will focus on synchronous, modern, and effective socioeconomic infrastructure in a connected direction, capable of spreading great benefits and serving multiple purposes, and is expected to mobilise a total social capital of about $17 billion.

“In the coming period, the province will put money into a series of large transport infrastructure projects to create momentum. For example, it will start the Hoang Sa-Doc Soi road with a total investment of $145.8 million, nearly 27km long, directly connecting the centre of Quang Ngai city with the Dung Quat EZ,” Phong said.

In addition, the province is currently investing in thte Tra Khuc 1 bridge at a cost of $87.5 million, spanning the Tra Khuc River connecting the north and south banks of Quang Ngai city.

Impressive industries

Dam Minh Le, deputy director of the Management Board of Dung Quat EZ and Quang Ngai Industrial Parks (IPs), said that by 2030, the province plans to develop 10 eco-IPs, supporting IPs, and high-tech parks with a total land area of about 6,650ha. At the same time, it wants to shape the Dung Quat EZ into a specialised, green, smart and sustainable area.

Up to now, Quang Ngai has four IPs in operation, pulling in 178 projects that cost about $1.57 billion; of which, 159 projects have come into operation, creating jobs for about 45,000 workers.

“Currently, the demand for funding in IPs in Quang Ngai province is massive, while available land in the area to attract secondary projects is still limited. Therefore, more IP infrastructure is necessary,” Le said.

Le added that business in IP infrastructure will enjoy the highest incentives according to the provisions of current law on corporate income tax policy, exemption from land rent, and more.

“We are focusing on synchronous investment in infrastructure, accompanying and supporting financiers throughout the research and implementation of projects; focusing on attracting those with experience and capacity to put money into IPs. Identifying the infrastructure implemented in IPs is a prerequisite to lure in secondary ventures, especially foreign-led ones,” Le said.

Quang Ngai calls for infrastructure backing for ventures at industrial parks and clusters

- Operating infrastructure in Binh Thanh industrial, urban, and service parks (1,287.8 hectares)

- Investment in Binh Hoa-Binh Phuoc I IP (342 ha)

- Investment in Dung Quat II industrial, urban, and service parks (765 ha)

- Construction of technical infrastructure of An Phu IP (276 ha)

- Construction of technical infrastructure of Binh Long multi-industry IP (341.89 ha)

- Operation of infrastructure of 23 clusters (925.6 ha).

The central province of Quang Ngai has yielded inspiring results after a decade-long deployment of a directive on strengthening the Party's role in policy credit implementation.

The central province of Quang Ngai is expected to make several large calls for infrastructure investment in the coming years.

Fully functional industrial park infrastructure and a more open investment environment are factors that have seen investors see the central province of Quang Ngai as a suitable destination.