Sustainable Development of Marine Economy

As the most developed fishing province out of 28 coastal provinces throughout the country, the marine economy of Binh Thuan has gained major benefit. It is the foundation of establishing united groups exploiting marine resources. Especially, the province has built a fleet of over 8,043 boats and 651,186 employees that can exploit offshore fishing area with modern equipment. Moreover, it has 30 enterprises that participate in processing and exporting seafood; 40 enterprises processing seafood with export value of over US$87.5 million in 2011.

 

Mr Le Van Tuan, Deputy Director of Binh Thuan Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the province is concentrating on attracting investment from all economic sectors in order to exploit marine advantages and potential, as well as to develop coastal industries such as seafood processing and wind power development. Currently Binh Thuan still has not had large-scale ports. It has only specialized ports such as Vinh Tan and Ke Ga. However, according to Plan of Vietnamese Seaport System Development to 2020, prospect to 2030, Vinh Tan and Ke Ga ports will be invested, opening many great opportunities for provincial marine development. Accordingly, Vinh Tan port will be a specialized port of the power plant, with capacity of 6-7 million tonnes a year by 2015, 18-25 million tonnes a year by 2020; Ke Ga port is type-II local specialized port that includes 3 terminals: Ke Ga north terminal for aluminum factory with capacity of 5-6 million tonnes a year by 2015, 12-15 million tonnes a year by 2020; Ke Ga south port with capacity of 1.5-2 million tonnes a year by 2015, 3.5-4 million tonnes a year by 2020; Phu Quy port, local satellite with capacity of 0.15-0.2 million tonnes a year by 2015, 0.3-0.5 million tonnes a year by 2020.

 

Along with advantages of marine exploitation, with its position in the Southern Central Coast, Binh Thuan possesses many crucial strong points to develop marine tourism. Aiming to attract tourists for this type of tourism, Binh Thuan has constructed several tourism routes such as marine tourism combined with sports, island exploration, and spiritual tourism, of which combining tourism such as Phan Thiet – Phu Quy Island, Co Thach Pagoda – Cu Lao Cau, Tam Tan Sea – Hon Ba, and Mui Ke Ga attract a large number of tourists.

 

Binh Thuan province issued Decision 1613/QD-UBND approving the marine economic development planning of Binh Thuan province to 2020 with total necessary capital of VND32,000 – 35,000 billion for the period of 2011-2015, and VND52,000-60,000 billion for the period of 2016-2020.

 

With the aim of promoting the construction and comprehensive development of the economy, society, science and technology based on taking marine advantages and potential, marine economic development of Binh Thuan to 2020 includes: developing marine economic sectors, constructing coastal and island infrastructure, developing regional marine economy and centres of marine economy, marine tourism and marine transport, with the key direction to construct Binh Thuan into a large tourism point of the whole country and Southeast Asia. With an average value added growth rate of 22-25 percent a year (in 2011-2015), and 15-18 percent a year (in 2016-2020), the tourism sector of Binh Thuan will become the main industry of the economy, as well as become “clean” environments of technology, culture and spirit, a mingling of the modern and the ancient.

 

By 2020, coastal urban cluster Phan Thiet-Mui Ne will be connected to tourism area Phan Thiet – Mui Ne and Phan Thiet industrial park, which includes: the city of Phan Thiet, urban areas of Long Son – Suoi Nuoc, Nga Hai – Ham My, Tan Thanh. Southern coastal urban cluster will be established and developed in connection with the coastal tourism area, Son My industrial park that includes: La Gi town and new urban area of Son My. Aiming to direct tourism as one of breakthrough factors of sustainable development, by 2020 Binh Thuan will establish and develop tourism spaces: tourism clusters of Phan Thiet – Mui Ne, Ca Na – Cu Lao Cau – Binh Thach (Tuy Phong district), Hoa Thanh, Thuan Quy, Hon Lan – Khe Ga, Ta Cu – Bung Thi (Ham Thuan Nam district), and La Gi – Ham Tan.

 

The planning also focuses on constructing and developing the infrastructure of coastal and island economy. Seaports of Phan Thiet, Phu Quy, Vinh Tan (Tuy Phong), Ke Ga and Son My will be upgraded or constructed, especially Hon Rom seaport will be for tourism on the North – South waterway. Moreover, the planning also proposes solutions to ensure coastal development in a sustainable way, harmonizing socio-economic development with the protection of natural resources to continuously improve quality of life.