Bac Kan and Solutions for Sustainable Development

Bac Kan was re-established in 1997. As a mountainous province without essential infrastructure for economic development, but with determination “to turn difficulties into advantages for development”, the local people have made the best use of every opportunity and started attracting important investment projects. Vietnam Business Forum had an interview with Mr Hoang Ngoc Duong, Chairman of Bac Kan People’s Committee on the investment environment of the province. Trong Dat reports.

In difficult conditions, Bac Kan has decided to transform from self-supply economy to cash-crops economy and building a new rural area. To this end, the province must rely on its own advantages. Though the province is divided by mountains and a shortage of roads, local people are determined to develop existing advantages. The advantages of the province are over 400,000 hectares of forests and forest land. To develop cash crops, the province planted more forests to meet the demand of forestry product processing. Now, the province has wood processing plant of Sahabak JSC with investment capital of VND34.5 billion and capacity of 3,000 cubic metres of timber a year. The same company has started the construction of another factory of MDF wooden sheets with capacity of 108,000 cubic metres a year and investment capital ofVND1,140 billion. When the factory starts operating, it will consume 200,000 cubic metres of timber each year, meeting the supply of the local people.

 

To ensure supply for wood processing, in recent years, Bac Kan has launched a campaign of planting forests. Before 2010, each year the province planted some 5,000 hectares of forests with the total of 30,000 hectares in five years. In 2011-2015, the province will plant 60,000 hectares more. In 2011, 14,544 hectares have already been planted. The province will continue to plant, protect and increase the quality of forest resources.

 

Bac Kan will mobilize all the resources, State-owned and private enterprises, especially local people, to invest in forest development. It is the correct orientation of sustainable development in the province. Bac Kan is combining wood processing factories with materials areas. It will be the foundation for economic development in the province.     

Bac Kan has had ups and downs in attracting investments. When the province was re-established, nobody came or knew what Bac Kan had. At that time, we thought we would welcome any investor, no matter their potential and efficiency. As a matter of fact, some investment projects proved to be inefficient. This has adversely affected the confidence of the people in investment projects.

 

By now, the province has overcome its hesitance and the investment environment has been improved. Several Korean and Taiwanese investors have come and started their investments.

 

It has been a long process to attract big, efficient projects to Bac Kan. For its part, the province will ensure all favourable conditions for the investors. For their parts, the investors should be fully committed with their capacity in capital, technology and experiences, as well as their heart for development in a difficult region.

 

Administrative reform is the breakthrough for building capacity of staff members. With our past experience, administrative reform is vital for development but it is not easy to implement, as we lack capable staff members and the training remains poor. The awareness of investment significance is limited, considering investors as those who are asking for jobs and not as driving force for development. Likewise, for their parts, some investors did not fully implement their commitments causing dissatisfaction among local authorities.

 

However, there is harassment against investors. The constraints include low capability of concerned authorities. The province is accelerating administrative reform, especially capacity building of staff members and efficiency of the administration. Regulations will be developed to improve administrative formalities. The province ensures most favourable conditions for investors and regards activities of investors as their own.