According to An Giang Economic Zone Management Authority, since a provincial major investment promotion conference held in December 2018, the authority has worked with 30 domestic and international investors who have come to the province in search of opportunities surrounding industrial zones (IZs) and border economic zones (EZs) in the area.
In particular, the authority has granted an investment certificate to one project valued at VND30 billion ($1.3 million) and approved proposals of two others worth VND115 billion ($5 million) in total value. These projects will lease 3.1 hectares in the Khanh Binh border trade services complex in An Giang’s An Phu district.
The authority also approved a UK financier’s proposal to build a footwear production plant valued at $45 million over a six-hectare area in Binh Hoa IZ in Chau Thanh district. In addition, it received an overseas investor proposal to finance a clothing production plant with $13 million in total committed capital over six hectares, and a domestic investor proposal to build a chain of agricultural production factories valued at VND1.1 trillion ($47.8 million) on 32ha at Xuan To IZ.
An Giang has currently three IZs with complete infrastructure that have been put into operation, including Binh Hoa IZ in Chau Thanh district, Binh Long IZ in Chau Phu district, and Xuan To IZ in Tinh Bien district.
Binh Hoa IZ is the site of 15 developments, including four foreign-invested projects, worth VND4.1 trillion ($178 million) in total capital and over 86ha space, with the occupancy rate reaching 86 per cent. Until now, 12 projects have come on stream, providing jobs to over 10,000 workers.
Binh Long IZ can boast 10 valid projects, including two foreign funding schemes, valued at VND1.57 trillion ($68.1 million) with disbursed capital reaching VND1.02 trillion ($44.4 million). The space has been completely leased out to investors. Until now, nine projects have come online, providing jobs to around 1,700 workers.
Xuan To IZ covers 57.4ha in total area, of which 32ha is earmarked for industrial production. Priority investment fields in the IZ are agricultural processing, packaging, electronics assembling, pharmaceuticals, and non-polluted consumer goods production. An Giang Economic Zone Management Authority is expected to grant an investment certificate to one overseas project to pour money into Xuan To IZ in export apparel production.
Sharing a border of nearly 100km with Cambodia, An Giang features two international border crossings (Tinh Bien and Vinh Xuong), two national border crossings (Khanh Binh and Vinh Hoi Dong), and two subordinate border crossings (Bac Dai and Vinh Gia). The border crossings report favorable transport by road and waterway, with high and stable trade volumes, growing nearly 30 per cent per year.
To maximize the border economy potential, An Giang has worked on establishing three border economic zones in Tinh Bien, Vinh Xuong, and Khanh Binh. These zones range from 75km to 100km from the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, a positive factor in promoting trade exchanges.
An Giang is accelerating efforts to call for investment into IZ infrastructure construction. These projects have drawn a great deal of attention thus far. For instance, private T&T Group has proposed infrastructure funding and trading at Vam Cong IZ, which was approved by An Giang People’s Committee. Thien Phuc Industrial Zone Investment Ltd. is in the process of financing infrastructure construction for Hoi An IZ, and the project record has been submitted to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for consideration.
Director of An Giang Economic Zone Management Authority Nguyen Minh Phong said the province will focus on luring technology-intensive and eco-friendly projects, and ventures producing components for the auto and apparel industries.
Foreign businesses are being encouraged to boost export-oriented production, take advantage of local market potential, and strive to replace import substitutes.
