Tra Vinh Province at a Glance

Tra Vinh has applied suitable social and economic development plans, which are considered the foundation for sustainable development. A harmonious arrangement of industrial production areas, housing areas and public utilities has given its urban areas a new and modern face.

Tra Vinh has been selected to house three giant projects in Mekong Delta region. A 600,000 MW thermal power plant, costing over US$4 billion, will be developed with capital from the Vietnamese Government and the Czech Republic to meet the growing power demand in the region and the country. This project will be located in Duyen Hai District and will begin construction in 2008. The second project is the upgrade of National Road 60, which will shorten the travel distance from Tra Vinh to Ho Chi Minh City to just over 120 km. The third major project is the construction of the Quan Chanh Bo international maritime canal, from Tra Vinh to Can Tho Port. The canal will support ships of 20,000 tonnes. Tra Vinh will also develop Dinh An Economic Zone and deepwater seaport for cargo handling demand and to supply coal for the thermal power plant.

Tra Vinh Province People’s Committee has issued Decision No. 20/2007/NQ-HDND to provide principles, criteria and quota of investment spending from the State Budget for the period from 2008 to 2010. Accordingly, investment capital allocation must be consistent with the master provincial plan for the provincial capital, urban zones, remote areas, coastal areas and especially poverty stricken ethnic Khmer areas, in order to support harmonious development in the province.

As an agriculture-based province, agriculture and fishery hold leading roles. Because of this, Tra Vinh prioritizes developing irrigation by building a hundred kilometres of river banks, sea banks and canals. As a result, thousands of hectares of unproductive paddy fields can be converted into raising shrimp or crops with higher commercial value.

In industry, Tra Vinh focuses on processing, especially frozen shrimp for export. Current processing capacity in the province reaches nearly 14,000 tonnes of frozen shrimp per annum. Several industrial sectors such as pharmacy, sugar, coconut, mineral water and garments for export have played active roles in provincial economic development. Handicraft sectors such as mattress weaving and rush-mat weaving have also brought in much profit.

Currently, the province is focusing on infrastructure, transport and power development to support production and raise living standards. All communes have access to electricity. It has also upgraded and built 3,000 km of roads, including 600 km of asphalt roads and 1,150 km of concrete roads. So far, 93 per cent of households have access to electricity and 85 per cent use clean water.

Rapidly increasing industrial production in the economic structure is the top goal of Tra Vinh. Hence, the province calls domestic and international investors to build production factories and exploit local natural and human resources. It is willing to create favourable conditions for land lease to construct factories and to offer investors tax incentives.

Tra Vinh People’s Committee Chairman has signed Decision No. 02/2007/NQ-HDND approving the application of incentive policies in the province. Investors will be given tax incentives in accordance with prevailing laws. Regarding projects in prioritised industries and fields, or projects with more than 500 labourers, investors will be supported with labour training. Incentive policies include softer land rental rates and land lease terms. Projects in industrial areas, handicraft complexes, Lang Chim fishing port, Dinh An fishing port and other key projects will receive investment for transport systems, middle voltage power grids and water supply systems. Besides, investors will be offered incentives for technological transfer and trade promotion.