On November 12, 2014, the Prime Minister issued Decision 2050/QD-TTg approving the Master Plan for Moc Chau National Tourism Zone in Son La province to 2020, with a vision to 2030. This is a great opportunity for Son La province to attract tourism investors to Moc Chau, thereby giving a helping hand to provincial socioeconomic development. Vietnam Business Forum has an interview with Mr Hoang Quoc Khanh, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment of Son La province, on this issue. Ngo Khuyen reports.How do you assess the investment attraction of Son La Province?
Son La province licensed 199 investment projects with a total registered capital of VND27 trillion as of the end of 2014, including 191 domestic investment projects. The disbursement value was projected at VND20 trillion, mainly for small and medium hydropower, mining, building material, cultivation, husbandry, service and tourism projects. The province now has eight foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with US$147.250 million. The largest FDI project is Ban Phuc nickel exploration and production project in Bac Yen district, capitalised at US$136 million, while other projects are valued below US$4 million each, mainly engaged in agriculture, forestry, tea growing and processing tea. A majority of foreign investors come from Japan and Taiwan.
Needless to say, these projects have partially resolved capital and technical shortages, promoted the development of many service industries, created jobs for local people, and generated products and income sources. Industrial projects have effectively unlocked local potential and strengths. Agricultural and forestry projects, regardless of moderate value, have helped restructure agricultural production towards high tech, productivity and quality. However, investment attraction has still exposed certain limitations like few, small-scaled FDI projects, small markets, simple goods and services, low-quality products, and weak competitiveness. On the other hand, licensed projects have low production and management levels, not enough to create strong momentum for social and economic development.
How has Son La province acted to improve the business environment and enhance competitiveness?
In order to improve the business environment and improve economic governance quality, on April 29, 2014, Son La province enacted the plan for improvement of the business environment and enhancement of competitiveness of Son La province (Decision 991/QD-UBND). The plan’s overall goals are to specify and implement timely mechanisms and policies to create a favourable business environment for all economic sectors; develop synchronous infrastructure, with focus placed on traffic system; speed up information technology application in all sectors, and raise the quality of education.
On that basis, the province told its subordinates to follow Resolution 19/NQ-CP of the Government dated March 18, 2014 on major tasks and solutions to improve the business environment and enhance national competitiveness. The province has reviewed legal documents to find inappropriate, overlapping and invalid documents. Son La has also stepped up the reform of administrative procedures relating to the provincial competitiveness index (PCI) to seek amendments and propose solutions to streamline administrative procedures and shorten the settlement time. The province required provincial and local agencies to assign capable and responsible officials to instruct procedure preparation, reception and settlement. The top priority is now to apply information technology to industrialisation and modernisation in all sectors, provide the foundation for rapid and sustainable development and enhance national competitiveness.
The Provincial People’s Committee also requested provincial and local organs to work out implementation plans to uplift component indexes and collect data to make year’s end assessments. They also regularly assess and report results and situations to the Department of Planning and Investment, which will forward such documents to the Provincial People’s Committee. The implementation of plans to improve the business environment and raise the PCI is an important criterion to assess the results of works assigned.
On November 12, 2014, the Prime Minister signed Decision 2050/QD-TTg approving the Master Plan for Moc Chau National Tourism Zone in Son La province to 2020, with a vision to 2030. This is a great opportunity for Son La province to attract tourism investors to Moc Chau, thereby giving a helping hand to provincial socioeconomic development. So, what are the opportunities for investors?
First of all, I must confirm that the approval of the Master Plan for Moc Chau National Tourism Zone reflected the deep care and close guidance of the central government to tourism development of Son La province and Moc Chau and Van Ho districts. The purposes of the master plan are to develop Moc Chau National Tourism Zone into a dynamic tourism development zone of Son La province and of the northern mountainous region, where tourism products are diversified, unique, effective, well-branded and competitive, associated with beautiful natural landscape and ethnically cultural identities. The tourism zone is expected to welcome over 1.2 million visitors in 2020 (10,000 international visitors) and 3 million visitors in 2030 (50,000 foreign tourists) in 2030, while tourism revenue is hoped to reach VND1,500 billion and VND6,000 billion, respectively. The zone will provide 10,000 jobs in 2020 and 30,000 jobs in 2030.
The master plan also introduces development orientations, including tourism market development, tourism product development, tourism centre formation, infrastructure development, and tourism development investment. To implement these objectives, the master plan clearly states that the province needs to complete investment attraction policies and mechanisms, develop human resources, boost cooperation for tourism development, and enhance tourism advertisement and promotion.
Based on existing potential and strengths, the province has announced 21 key projects with strategic impacts on local industrial sectors and areas but without impacts on the landscape, environment and natural heritage in 2014 – 2015. Projects focus on four areas: tourism, trade and services with seven projects; agriculture and forestry with eight projects; processing and manufacturing industry with five projects; and construction with one project. The province has also introduced investment policies and mechanisms. It is instructing competent agencies and localities, especially Van Ho and Moc Chau districts, to accelerate the progress of district social and economic development plans and industry development plans to lay the ground for investment attraction. The Department of Planning and Investment is also coordinating with other departments and districts to advise the provincial government on preferential investment attraction policies and mechanisms for the Moc Chau National Tourism Zone and create opportunities for investors in Moc Chau in particular and Son La in general.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
