Thua Thien Hue - Promising Land for Investors

Hue is one of five provinces in the central key economic region located on the East West Economic Corridor (Vietnam - Laos - Thailand - Myanmar). The central coastal province is the central point linking the southern and northern regions of Vietnam as well as other regions in the world on the National Road 1 and the Trans-Asia railway. The province has Phu Bai international airport, Chan May deep-water seaport, A Dot - Ta Vang border gate, etc. Particularly, the province possesses many advantages. It is a cultural and tourism centre with two world cultural heritages recognised by UNESCO, a science and technology centre, a medical centre, and an education and training centre. Thua Thien - Hue is calling investment capital into Chan May - Lang Co Economic Zone; new urban zones in Hue City; Phu Bai, Phong Dien, Tu Ha and Son La industrial parks; Bach Ma ecological resort, etc. These are favourable conditions for domestic and foreign investors to find opportunities on this potential land.

 

According to the Decision No. 10/1998/QD-TTg on the master plan for Vietnam urban zone development until 2020 approved by the Prime Minister in 1998, along with Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong and Da Nang, Hue is defined as one of five urban centres of national, regional and international scales. Thua Thien Hue province has a variety of terrain constituted by rivers, mountains, hills, mounds, lagoons, sea and natural landscapes. Specially, together with the Huong River, old-time temples, palaces, pagoda and citadels have created distinctive landscape features of Thua Thien Hue urban zone. Urban landscape has been added to urban valuating criteria as provided by the Prime Minister’s Decree 42. This is an unparalleled feature that not all urban zones in Vietnam have, even Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi.

 

Basing on local potentials and advantages and achieved results, on May 25, 2009, the Politburo approved a plan to “Build Thua Thien Hue into a centrally governed city in the next few years, a centre of the central region, a major cultural and tourism centre, a science - technology centre, a medical centre, and an education - training centre. By 2020 Thua Thien Hue is an urban centre of national, regional and international scales, and an economic, cultural, scientific, technological, medical and education centre in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, etc.” By 2025, Thua Thien Hue province will become a centrally governed first-grade urban zone with Hue City, Huong Tra, Huong Thuy, Thuan An and Binh Dien towns to be developed into the inner centre of Thua Thien Hue City in the future. This is the growth nucleus of the region, a tourism, service, commercial, cultural and art centre, an education centre, a high-grade specialised medical centre, a Vietnam-characterised festival city, an important international trading centre of the region and the country. The Chan May - Lang Co Economic Zone will be invested into an important economic and urban centre and connected with Hue City to create the Hue - Chan May economic axis - a locomotive for provincial socioeconomic development. In the future, Chan May - Lang Co Economic Zone will be a major economic and international trading centre of the central region, the Central Highlands and the Mekong sub-region, etc., an important economic development pole of the central key economic zone, and a chain of the East - West Economic Corridor that links Myanmar, Thailand, Laos to the East Sea.

 

Possessing many unique advantages, Thua Thien Hue gathers all potentials and advantages to accelerate its growth rate in the process of industrialisation and modernisation, is a growth pole of the central and national key economic zone, and a vital national defence and security location. The construction and development of Thua Thien Hue and Hue urban zone is playing important roles to the development of the central region, the Central Highlands and the entire nation.

 

Thua Thien Hue has achieved important socioeconomic development achievements and emerged as a growth pole of the dynamic central economic region. The provincial economy has a relatively good growth. The GDP growth averaged at 12 percent a year in the 2006 - 2010 period. The total social investment capital exceeded VND7,200 billion. The State budget revenue approximated VND3,000 billion. GDP per capita reached US$1,013. In some fields, Thua Thien Hue holds a high position on the national scale. For instance, it ranks 20th out of 63 provinces and cities in terms of State budget collection; the provincial competitiveness index (PCI) jumps from the 40^th position in 2005 to the 14^th position now. Its medical, education and tourism sectors lead the country. The national ICT readiness index is ranked 4^th out of 63 provinces and cities.

 

The speed of urbanization in Thua Thien Hue, especially in Huong Thuy, Tu Ha, Thuan An and other towns, is very rapid. Technical infrastructure system in Hue City and satellite urban towns has been upgraded, Phu Bai Airport, Chan May Seaport, Hai Van Tunnel, Ho Chi Minh Road, border gates and traffic systems connecting mountainous and delta satellite towns with Hue City are invested. Power supply, water supply and wastewater treatment systems are developed, urban and environment protection is attached special importance. Many important infrastructure development projects have been carried out, including wastewater treatment facilities in Hue City, highways, National Road 49A, National Road 74, National Road 71, bridges across the Huong River and La Son - Nam Dong Road among others. At present, Thua Thien Hue scores 65.7 points on the first-grade urban zone scale, with scores ranging from 70 to 100 points.

 

This investment promotion conference for Thua Thien Hue province is aimed at introducing and promoting investment into prioritised fields like tourism and service; new urban and industrial zone development; industrial zone and hi-tech park infrastructure construction, and development; real estate business, etc. to make Hue a centrally governed city by 2015 as said in the Conclusion 48 of the Politburo.

 

In his opening address, Mr Nguyen Van Cao, Chairman of Thua Thien Hue Provincial People's Committee, confirmed that Thua Thien Hue is developing rapidly and is offering attractive incentives for all investors. Cao pledged to create most favourable conditions for investors and support them with land clearance and compensation. He hoped that the province would welcome many investors to explore business opportunities after this event.

 

An official from the province’s Department of Planning and Investment said Thua Thien Hue licensed 328 domestically invested projects with total registered capital of VND80,000 billion as of end-October 2010, in which Chan May - Lang Co Economic Zone housed 36 projects with a combined registered capital of VND35,000 billion. Meanwhile, foreign investors registered to invest US$2.46 billion in 69 projects in the province. Defining tourism and service as backbone economic sectors, the province hired Akitek Tengarra - a Singaporean consulting company - to plan 10 key tourism investment projects, aiming to diversify tourism products. Typical projects include the 50-room Vinh Thanh Hotel and Dam Lap An ecological complex with 12 hotels and 500 three-star villas.

 

At the conference, Thua Thien Hue authorities handled investment certificates to three Vietnamese investors who registered to invest nearly VND7,000 billion to build Dong Lam cement plant, white sand processing plant and Lang Co resort - golf course.