Khanh Hoa Province Tapping Maritime Potential

Khanh Hoa Province is endowed with favourable natural conditions, cool climate and a long coastline with many beautiful beaches, islands, peninsulas, lagoons and forests, all attractive for ecological tourism projects. Especially, Nha Trang Bay is rated one of the 29 most beautiful bays in the world. Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa is already a place of interest for both domestic and international visitors. In 2006, 1.1 million visitors arrived in Khanh Hoa, including 260,000 international visitors. Many ecological tourism projects and resort projects of national and international scale are underway in the province.

 

In addition, Khanh Hoa has a strong fishery sector. With a 380 km coastline, 135 km bordering more than 72 islands, a 1,658 sq. km lagoon and a continental shelf over 10,000 sq. km, Khanh Hoa has ideal conditions to develop tropical fishery – an important local economic resource. Khanh Hoa is home to the country’s most developed seafood processing industry. At present, the province has more than 40 export seafood processing plants, capable of refrigerating 400 tonnes a day.

 

Khanh Hoa has many seaports like military Cam Ranh Port, Ba Ngoi cargo port, Nha Trang and Hon Khoi ports. In March 2005, the Prime Minister approved the overall development plan for Van Phong Economic Zone until 2020. Accordingly, Van Phong Bay will be developed into the country’s largest deepwater port with 10 million tonnes annual handling capacity, turning Van Phong into a dynamic economic hub of Vietnam. In addition, Khanh Hoa’s infrastructure system is in good condition. Cam Ranh airport will be upgraded into an international airport, with annual capacity of one million passengers in 2010, and two million in 2020.

So far, Khanh Hoa Province has attracted 64 foreign invested projects and many Vietnamese invested ones, including the biggest project Vinpearl Land resort with the world’s longest sea-crossing cable car system, VND2,000 billion Canh Ranh resort and golf course developed by VINASHIN- HABUBANK Investment and Development Co, US$300 million Cam Ranh shipyard, US$500 million STX shipyard, US$5.2 billion Posco steel complex, US$2 billion Sumitomo thermal power plant and US$100 million Van Phong international container transhipment terminal developed by Sumitomo Group.

 

The seaborne economy and tourism are two strong points for Khanh Hoa. How has Khanh Hoa attracted investment capital for these two sectors in recent years?
At present, the seaborne economic programmes have been started up and attracted a lot of investors, especially those from other countries who have injected billions of US dollars into the locality. The most active location is Van Phong Economic Zone. Many large groups from Japan, South Korea, the US and the EU have visited and proposed major projects in Van Phong. Most recently, Dubai World of the UAE made a thorough survey in Van Phong. World oil billionaires also expressed their intention to pour billions of US dollars into Khanh Hoa ports, and Van Phong Port is their favoured option. After nearly two years of investigation, Sumitomo submitted applications for its two projects in Van Phong Economic Zone, with nearly US$4.2 billion investment capital. Sumitomo plans to build a 2,640 MW coal fuelled thermal power plant, estimated to cost US$4 billion. In addition, Sumitomo will invest US$196 billion to develop the first phase of an international container transhipment terminal in Dam Mon peninsula. These two projects are only for the first phase, and if things go smoothly investment capital will be quadrupled. Singapore’s SP Chemicals Co. Ltd has picked Van Thanh commune of Van Ninh district for its US$1.2 billion petrochemical plant, with annual capacity of one million tonnes. After Sumitomo, the world’s third largest steelmaker Posco from South Korea, and Vinashin Business Group, also surveyed Van Phong and applied to lease 720 hectares for a steel complex with US$4 billion investment capital in the first phase, producing four million tonnes. Investment will be scaled up to US$7.2 billion to turn out eight million tonnes. The province is rapidly developing Van Phong Economic Zone’s infrastructure. In tourism, the natural beauty of mountains, forests, rivers, springs, waterfalls and lakes of Khanh Hoa Province provides attractive scenery. Nha Trang is home to world famous luxury resorts like Ana Mandara, Evason Hideaway and especially Vinpearl Land. In the future, these tourism zones will be second to none in the world, with various entertainment, recreational and shopping areas.

 

In 2007 and following years, which fields will Khanh Hoa attract investment capital to?
In 2007 and the following years, Khanh Hoa Province will speed up socioeconomic development growth by fully utilising its potential. The economic structure will be dominated by the service and industrial sectors. Accordingly, the province will attract investment capital to resorts, entertainment and sports complexes. It will lure projects for commercial, healthcare and education centres, encourage investment in high-tech, export-oriented production, farm and aquatic product processing, seaports, shipbuilding, finance, banking, post, telecom, transport, and urban and industrial zones. Van Phong Economic Zone, Nha Trang City and Cam Ranh Town are centres for handicraft, building materials, furniture and food processing projects. Khanh Hoa Province will focus on attracting giant firms from the US, Japan, China and the EU.