Despite facing numerous difficulties caused by negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, investment promotion of Quang Tri province still produced practical outcomes thanks to active spirit and ongoing effort of all stakeholders, said Mr. Nguyen Duc Tan, Director of the Quang Tri Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Agency (IPA).
Although the COVID-19 epidemic caused negative impacts in 2021, Quang Tri province was still a leading light when it has attracted 56 projects with VND69,594 billion of investment capital, 10 times higher than 2020 (VND6,811 billion and equal to that in 2016-2020 (VND69,500 billion). These results show efforts of all-tiers of government and people engaged in investment promotion. Could you please tell more about these?
First of all, these very encouraging results in 2021 came from to support policies of the Government, the Prime Minister and central agencies and from motivational projects of Quang Tri province.
In the past years, the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People’s Council and the Provincial People’s Committee of Quang Tri province have always paid close attention to investment promotion and attraction work. In 2020 and 2021, provincial leaders actively took part in investment promotion through many diplomatic events such as meetings with Japanese businesses within the framework of the Vietnam - Japan Local Leaders Conference 2020 in Da Nang City and the Meet Japan Conference 2020 in Hanoi; working meetings with the Ambassador and businesses of South Korea; and delivery of Quang Tri introduction materials at Meet South Korea Conference 2020. At the same time, the province worked with central agencies and other provinces and cities: Joining with the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) on accelerating FDI attraction; cooperating with the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) to organize the conference on Quang Tri tourism development cooperation in 2021; successfully organizing the conference on Quang Tri gas energy connection and development in Hanoi; cooperating with Sakae - Surbana Jurong Joint Venture (Singapore) in developing the strategic planning of Quang Tri province and urban development; and joining the visiting delegation of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc to Switzerland and Russia to approach investors and promote gas power projects of Gazprom International.
The Provincial People's Committee has actively contacted and worked with many large corporations and reputable investors to attract investment flows into locally strong areas like electricity - renewable energy, wood processing, silica sand, economic zone infrastructure, logistics, agriculture and tourism services to promote and attract large-scale motivational projects that make highly competitive products in global value chains, thus building and developing supporting industries and businesses.
As a lead agency of investment promotion, in addition to advising the provincial government and joining promotion events of the provincial government, IPA Quang Tri has actively coordinated with the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA), the Investment Promotion Center for Central Vietnam and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) to work out practical investment promotion and attraction orientations; strengthen electronic marketing to strategic investors and potential markets like Russia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The agency has also built databases and publications on local investment environment, policies, potentials and investment opportunities. IPA Quang Tri directly worked with domestic and foreign investors seeking to investment in the province, including those from South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, the United States and China.
With an active and methodical approach, investment promotion and attraction in Quang Tri province has made positive progress, gradually turned challenges into opportunities; switched from “open the door wide” to “knock on the right door” approach. As a result, investment attraction has produced specific outcomes and brought practical effects.
Together with promoting and attracting external investment, localized investment promotion is of special interest of the province. Would you mind telling more about this?
Quang Tri province has a lot of potential advantages and room for investment flows, but it also faces typical difficulties. For instance, the province is located far from major economic centers. Its traffic, airport and seaport infrastructure is insufficient. Many projects are delayed. Determination and enthusiasm of many investors also fades when they encounter obstacles.
Therefore, in recent years, the province has always attached great importance to "localized investment promotion" by improving legal support, reforming administrative procedures and assisting investors in site clearance. The province is ready to help them prepare and complete required documents and procedures for early investment licensing or project commencement. In 2020 and 2021, Quang Tri actively supported many projects, including Quang Tri Industrial Park (VSIP - Amata - Sumitomo Joint Venture), Trieu Phu Industrial Park (Trung Khoi Joint Stock Company), infrastructure construction and operation project in Tay Bac - Ho Xa Industrial Zone (Quang Anh Quang Tri Joint Stock Company), Gio Hai Service - Tourism Area (T&T Group), Hai Lang LNG Power Center (a consortium of T&T Group (Vietnam) - Hanwha Energy - Korea Southern Power - Korea Gas (South Korea), Quang Tri Lavergne Factory (AP Lavergne Investment Pte. Ltd - Singapore), and Nam Dong Ha Trade, Service and Urban Area (Vingroup) together with wind power projects with a total capacity of 656.40MW recognized for commercial operations date (COD) before November 1, 2021 in the western part of Quang Tri province.
In tourism promotion, Quang Tri has reformed and diversified its methods. Sviet Program and Tintuc24h produced video clips to introduce local tourism. Quang Tri Radio and Television Station and Quang Tri Newspaper regularly open specialized columns and programs to promptly report and introduce local tourism. Besides, the province joined the Vietnam Hanoi International Travel Mart (VITM) in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City; worked and exchanged information with travel businesses, UNESCO - HUTC Travel Club and Vietnam Association for Community Tourism Development about potential use and development of special tourism products typical of Quang Tri. Then, the province has attracted many businesses to survey and develop investment and business cooperation plans.
| IPA Quang Tri was established under Decision 2955/QD-UBND dated December 17, 2018 of the Quang Tri Provincial People’s Committee, tasked to advise the Provincial People's Committee to work out strategies, mechanisms and policies for development investment; lead domestic and foreign investment, trade and tourism promotion; link investors and local authorities, assist investors to establish and carry out projects, support enterprises to launch trade and tourism promotion. Since its establishment three years ago, Quang Tri IPA has always actively coordinated with relevant bodies and localities to boost investment promotion and achieve practical outcomes. |
Quang Tri province also directs relevant agencies, sectors and localities to actively work with investors to promptly remove their difficulties to enable them to start or speed up their projects soon, especially with important projects and those launched to celebrate the 30th re-establishment anniversary of Quang Tri province (in 2019).
The Executive Board of the Provincial Party Committee established a steering committee for motivational projects, staffed by members of the Executive Board, to oversee the progress of these projects. The board has hosted many working meetings with investors of My Thuy MTIP Port, 220kV Lao Bao Power Substation and 220kV Dong Ha - Lao Bao Transmission Line to seek solutions to their emerging problems. Currently, it is directing relevant bodies, localities and investors to complete procedures to soon start such projects as Quang Tri Airport, Hai Lang LNG Power Center (first phase, 1,500MW), a coastal road for the East - West Economic Corridor, and a road linking eastern Ho Chi Minh Road to western Ho Chi Minh Road.
In 2020 and 2021, authorities at all tiers stood side by side with Vietnam Electricity Group, the investor of renewable energy projects, to promptly solve obstacles in site clearance to speed up projects and achieve goals of the province and investors.
Given the complicated development of the COVID-19 epidemic, mobility restrictions caused most of investment promotion programs to be postponed or canceled while localized investment promotion was increasingly effective. Quang Tri IPA looks forward to receiving further support of local authorities and investors, enabling it to fulfill its tasks, produce strong ripple effects on the investment trend in Quang Tri, and help achieve the socioeconomic development plan in the 2021-2025 period.
Thank you very much!
By Vietnam Business Forum
Vietnamese
October 2024
Hanoi