Amata, partner plot bold “Future City” plan

The property developer would join hands with Tuan Chau Au Lac for developing a 3,000 hectare urban project, Future City, in the province’s Quang Yen town, said a source at Quang Ninh Provincial Investment Promotion Agency.

Amata, which entered Vietnam in 1994, now owns a 1,353ha industrial park - Amata Bien Hoa City in southern Dong Nai province. The  well-known industrial park has attracted 100 multinational companies to make investments. The Thai developer last year also announced plans to develop a giant Amata Express City project in Dong Nai, worth $20 billion.

In Quang Ninh, Amata plans to develop Future City within three years, comprising a green industrial park, residential urban area, sport facilities, convention centre, schools and university and entertainment facilities, according to the source. However, he declined to reveal the estimated investment of the planned project.

“Everything is in the initial stage. We will discuss it further with the developers to reach a final decision,” the sources said. Quang Ninh provincial leaders, he added, acknowledged the project, if implemented, could be a breakthrough to attract more foreign direct investment capital to the province.

“Amata is a well-known developer in Thailand and it has been successful with the industrial park in Dong Nai. More foreign investors will pay attention to Quang Ninh once Amata invests here,” he said.

Bordering Lang Son, Bac Giang, Haiphong and Hai Duong provinces and China’s Guangxi province, Quang Ninh is now the third largest economic hub in northern Vietnam, after Hanoi and Haiphong. It is also the site of the largest coalmine in the country.

The Vietnamese government saw Quang Ninh as part of the pivotal economic development triangle of Hanoi-Haiphong-Quang Ninh in northern Vietnam that would drive the economic development in the northern region.

To enhance the appeal to private investors, Quang Ninh has recently proposed the Vietnamese government unprecedented incentives for investors starting business in the province’s Van Don and Mong Cai, which are planned to be special administrative and economic zones in the future.