Creating New Impetus in Investment Attraction

The opening business environment of Quang Tri province has created a new impetus to draw investment flows, as the province has strived to change investment promotion approaches, step up administrative procedure reform, apply many attractive mechanisms, and actively remove bottlenecks in site clearance, Mr. Nguyen Huy, Acting Director of Quang Tri Department of Planning and Investment, said in an interview granted to Vietnam Business Forum. Ngo Khuyen reports.

How do you assess local investment attraction in 2019? What are key tasks of investment promotion and attraction in 2020 and beyond?

In 2019, provincial authorities closely instructed investment promotion and attraction activities. The Provincial People’s Committee contacted and persuaded many investors to invest in locally strong fields like electricity - energy (especially wind and solar power), wood processing, silica sand, economic zone infrastructure and logistics. The province also worked with many reputable investors and corporations such as Sembcorp Development, Amata (Thailand), Sumitomo (Japan), EGATI (Thailand), Gazprom Group (Russia) to lure large-scale projects that make highly competitive products in global value chains to build and develop supporting industries. The province also joined and led investment delegations to foreign countries like the United States, Taiwan (China), Hong Kong (China), Singapore, South Korea and the European Union (EU) to court investors to Quang Tri.

With the province’s tireless efforts, in 2019, investment attraction was outstanding. Quang Tri granted investment licenses to 86 domestic direct investment (DDI) projects with a total registered capital of over VND42,734 billion and one FDI project with VND463 billion (35 projects and VND35 trillion more than in 2018). Many large-scale energy projects were licensed, including 48-MW Lien Lap Wind Farm, 48-MW Tan Linh Wind Farm, Huong Tan Wind Farm, Gio Thanh 1 and 2 Solar Farms; and GELEX Wind Farms 1,2 and 3. Other projects included Mui Treo Beach Resort Complex, Ban Moi Hydropower Plant, Cua Tung Resort 2, and My Thuy Port.

In 2020, Quang Tri province is resolved to work aggressively to achieve inclusive results and create momentum for breakthrough development. The province will further advance investment promotion and support investors to study investment opportunities in the locality. Quang Tri gives priority to projects that apply modern advanced technologies and use local materials, and have positive impacts on local socio-economic development. The province will focus on supporting the investor consortium of VSIP-AmataSumitomo to complete documents and procedures, urging Gazprom (Russia) and T&T Group to carry out gas projects in Dong Nam Economic Zone, and Vietjet Aviation Company to launch an airport project in Quang Tri.

How have licensed projects, particularly those licensed in 2019, been carried out?

In 2019, to celebrate its 30th anniversary, Quang Tri province started 30 projects with a total investment of VND111 trillion and inaugurated 14 projects with a total investment of over VND6 trillion. Among 30 selected projects, investors kicked off 24 projects with VND88,845 billion, of which VND4,962 billion was disbursed. In addition to the projects launched to celebrate the 30th anniversary, investors commenced 16 other projects with VND4.200 trillion of investment capital. Thus, in 2019, Quang Tri province has 40 projects started with a total registered capital of VND93,045 billion.

Among groundbreaking projects, 18 projects (VND78.3 trillion) are involved in the energy sector, including nine wind power projects (VND16.3 trillion), two solar power projects (VND2.2 trillion), five hydropower projects (VND2.6 trillion) and a thermal power project (VND55 trillion), two service and tourism projects (VND2.3 trillion), a high-tech agriculture project ( VND371 billion), four warehousing - port projects (VND15.4 trillion) and five other projects (VND14.7 trillion). Besides, seven projects (VND25.3 trillion) are completing investment procedures to prepare for construction in 2020.

Despite certain difficulties and obstacles, investors have made great efforts to speed up projects. This result also partly came from the province’s “day for motivational projects” campaign to court investors and accelerate project progress.

What do you think about the quality and effect of administrative investment procedures in recent years?

To build an enabling government for people and for the business community, in July 2019, Quang Tri province established and operated the Quang Tri Public Administration Service Center in order to build a professional, effective administration system to meet public and business requirements quickly and conveniently.

The province has also set up a committee responsible for receiving information and responding to petitions from businesses, operated a communication hotline to get opinions about administrative regulations on the provincial web portal, and established hotlines of agencies to promptly grasp opinions, answer questions and guide businesses in a timely manner.

The Department of Planning and Investment has worked with relevant departments and agencies to advise the Provincial People’s Committee to organize regular business meetings and dialogues every year to receive and promptly handle recommendations from local enterprises and cooperatives; and consult the Provincial People’s Committee to promulgate mechanisms to encourage, incentivize and support investors in the province. The department has reviewed administrative procedures and made reports to competent agencies to reduce unnecessary ones to shorten the time needed to handle procedures for businesses. It has coordinated with tax and police agencies to complete the single-window mechanism to better serve people and businesses.

Determining that investors have helped create strong development motivation for the province served as the most objective measurement of the local investment environment, and Quang Tri province will mobilize all possible resources to assist investors and enterprises in the best manner.

Source: Vietnam Business Forum