Tay Ninh Promotes a Sustainable Economic Development

In the 2001-2005 period, despite dealing with many difficulties and challenges, Tay Ninh province recorded significant achievements. Accordingly, the province achieved and exceeded 19 out of 21 norms set by the seventh provincial Party Congress’s resolution. Concretely, the province’s GDP growth rate reached 14 per cent per annum on average. Per capita GDP reached US$575 per year. The province attracted 122 foreign-invested projects with a total registered capital of US$471.65 million. Trade activities have been boosted with budget revenues reaching over VND 1,200 billion in 2005. Apart from economic development, Tay Ninh recorded significant achievements in social and cultural fields. Accordingly, the socialisation of health care, education, culture and sports has witnessed a change for the better. Tay Ninh has basically completed the building of houses of gratitude showing, the elimination of hunger and the reduction of poverty.

 

In general, over the past few years, Tay Ninh has gained a comprehensive development. However, the province still faces many difficulties and challenges, including a poor quality of development. These will be issues the provincial Party Committee and authorities will focus in the coming time.

 

As a province located in the key southern economic region with a convenient location as a cultural and economic bridge linking Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Tay Ninh has a 240 kilometre border line with Cambodia with 14 pairs of border gates, including two international border gates of Moc Bai and Xa Mat, two national border gates of Ka Tum and Phuoc Tan, two others to be upgraded to become national border gates, such as Chang Riec and Tong Le Chan. The system of border gates has made a significant contribution to boosting trade exchange between Tay Ninh province and other localities in Cambodia.

 

In 1998 Tay Ninh province established the Moc Bai border gate economic zone with a total area of more than 21,283 hectares. So far, the province has completed the compensation and site clearance of more than 385 hectares and attracted 28 projects with a total registered capital of more than VND 5,214 billion. So far, six projects have become operational, three other will start to operate soon and eight projects are under construction. The projects which have become operational and have gained a high effectiveness, include the Moc Bai Duty Free Supermarket, the border market, a trade centre and a residential area. Apart from the Moc Bai border gate economic zone, in 2003 the province continued to establish the Xa Mat border gate economic zone with a total planned area of 34,197 hectares, of which the border gate urban area alone has a total area of 728 hectares. The zone is in a period of compensation and site clearance. So far, four investors have been attracted to the zone with a total investment of VND 170 billion.

 

Border gate economic zones have been planned to have all functions as industrial, service, trade, tourism and residential complexes. In the near future, via the trans-Asia highway, Tay Ninh province, with its border gate economic zones will become important gates for Vietnam to develop its relations with ASEAN countries. With this orientation, Tay Ninh province is concentrating to build the Moc Bai and Xa Mat border gate economic zones into industrial, trade and urban centres, playing an important role in economic development.

 

Tay Ninh, despite having many advantages, has yet to have any spearhead sector. In the coming time, the province will concentrate on developing the fields which have their own advantages but support each other. Concretely, Tay Ninh will concentrate on developing some following fields, such as border economic zones, tourism, industry and services, cement production, water exploitation of the Dau Tieng lake, the formation of materials supply areas of cassava, rubber and sugarcanes.