4:59:03 PM | 25/9/2013
Thanks to the favourable foundation resulted from the policy and coordinated implement between departments, localities as well as businesses, over recent years, trade and investment promotion in the province of Gia Lai has become more and more prosperous and professional.
Established in 2006, Tra Da Industrial Zone now is the only operating industrial zone in the province of Gia Lai. With a total area of 109.3 hectares, Tra Da Industrial Zone is located in the province of Tra Da and Bien Ho, Pleiku city, a favourable area in terms of traffic and proximity to Pleiku city which give it advantages of socioeconomic development, services and infrastructure, which in turn contributes greatly to investment attraction. Realising the potential, the Vietnamese government has approved a plan for the period of 2015 - 2020 to expand Tra Da Industrial Zone an additional 104 hectares, at the same time add eight more industrial zones and complexes of 1397.07 hectares around towns and districts in the province. Of these new industrial zones, Western Pleiku, Le Thanh Border Gate and An Khe are three industrial zones which are on the way to completion and seeking investment. Investment in these industrial zones is diverse, including agricultural and forestry product processing, rubber product processing, fertilizer factories, white pepper processing plants, consumer goods production, construction material production, mining and interior decoration. These projects are of medium scale with construction investment capital unlocked in stages.
Enterprises in Tra Da Industrial Zone have contributed most of the industrial production and export of the province. Especially FDI enterprises in industrial zones have play an important role in enhancing the production capacity in key industries. In the past, businesses used to labour-intensive manufacturing, but lately, businesses have proactively upgraded technology, invested in modern machinery and automation, and applied high-tech. These measures have helped opening new directions in investment and human resources attracting. Up to now, the Management Board has attracted 39 investors to invest in Tra Da Industrial Zone with 42 projects (four are expansion projects) of a total investment of VND1,466,126 million in registered capital. Implemented capital were VND695,288 million, accounting for 47 percent of registered capital. Of 42 investment projects there are 29 had been completed and came into operation (one is expansion project); 11 projects are currently under development (three are extension projects); two projects have just been approved by the Management Board. Among the investment projects in the industrial zones, there are four big projects with FDI accounting for 9.5 percent of total investment in the industrial zone plan.
The direction of developing industrial zones has brought significant economic benefits, the industrial production from industrial zones accounting for approximately 16 percent of provincial production, while exports account for 15 percent of local exports. Additionally, industrial zone development has also produced great social benefits, including cutting the unemployment rate and creating a strong foundation for the formation of urban area. However, the development process is still slower than the target set in the 04-NQ/TU Resolution of the provincial Standing Committee, issued on 13 January 2007 on the development of industrial zones and complexes of 2007 - 2015 and towards 2020.
The Gia Lai Economic Zone Management Board has been effectively and regularly coordinating with other provincial departments to settle problems enterprises encounter while doing business. It has also improved the efficiency of post-license inspection and surveillance work in order to provide enterprises with legal guidelines, preventing violations, while regularly reviewing as well as revoking investment certificates of projects which fall behind schedule, so that the industrial zone could welcome new projects. Even though there are still many challenges to handle and limitations to overcome in construction and development, the results produced up to now have proved that the direction Gia Lai has taken is in line with the development trend of the Vietnamese economy. The process of industrial zone construction and development must be in line with security, defence, conservation and preservation of the national cultural identity.
Mr Nguyen Van Minh - Head of the Management Board of Gia Lai Industrial Zone, said the direction for provincial industrial development in this stage is to encourage and effectively exploit strong products of the province to meet domestic and export demands, at the same time creating favourable conditions for promoting other products; attracting investors with high potential, projects with large scale of technology, ensuring environmental security, prioritising key products such as agricultural - forestry products processing and mineral processing to maximise provincial export.
P.V
Vietnamese
