Long An realising its long-term strategies

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung (second from right) with leaders of Long An province, Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

After two years of implementing the Resolution of the 11th Party Congress of the province, Long An is on track to adjust its economic structure.

The agricultural sector has posted positive results thanks to more investment, especially in high-tech agriculture development and restructuring programmes. Industry and the construction sector are recovering, with positive results from investment attraction. Trade and services are also developing rapidly.

The province’s regional GDP growth rate reached 0.95 and 8.32 per cent respectively in 2021 and 2022. This rate jumped by 3.43 per cent in the first six months of 2023. The provincial People’s Committee said that this growth rate has yet to meet desired expectations, but is still acceptable amid the challenging economic environment.

Long An has recorded positive performance across industries. The average growth rate of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries reached 2.46 per cent annually in 2021-2022 and was up 3.71 per cent in the first six months of 2023.

Industrial production has recovered, with an average growth rate of 3.95 per cent in 2021-2022 and an on-year increase of 3.38 per cent in the first six months of 2023.

Despite the low growth rate, industrial scale is constantly increasing. Long An has lured more large domestic and foreign investors to deploy projects and develop new industries such as electricity, electronics, mechanical engineering, solar power, and agricultural product processing. Enterprises are increasingly investing in advanced technology and diversifying production fields.

Commercial activities have rebounded strongly after the pandemic, with an average growth rate of 8.19 per cent per year over the past two years. In the first half of 2023, the figure hit 11.59 per cent per year. Meanwhile, export and import activities are affected by global fluctuations. The export turnover increased by an average of 4.89 per cent per year in 2021-2022, and has declined by 9.15 per cent so far this year.

Import turnover jumped 5.8 per cent per year in 2021-2022, and then decreased by 21.8 per cent in the first half of this year.

The province has also stepped up the collection and spending of the state budget, fulfilling the year’s target and surpassing the estimate. Budget revenue posted a growth rate of 8.9 per cent per year.

Accelerating growth

There are some positive signs of investment attraction. As of June, more than 16,000 enterprises have registered to do business in the province, up 29.3 per cent against the end of 2022, with a total registered capital of $15.2 million. There are over 2,170 domestic projects in operation with total registered capital of $10.65 billion and nearly 1,200 foreign-led projects worth $10.4 billion. This is up 165 projects and $4.1 billion against the end of 2020.

Nguyen Van Duoc, Secretary of the Long An Party Committee, said the province’s economic scale reached more than $6.54 billion in 2022, ranking 12th in the country.

“People’s living standards are increasingly improving, with a regional GDP per capita of more than VND90 million ($3,800). The province attracts more than $10 billion of foreign investment capital, among the top 10 nationwide. While its Provincial Competitiveness Index ranks 10th in Vietnam, its Public Administration Reform Index ranks eighth in the country,” Duoc said.

On June 30, the prime minister approved Decision No.686/QD-TTg on the master development plan of Long An in the 2021-2030 period with a vision towards 2050. Long An is the first province in the south to gain approval for its development master plan.

Duoc said that the plan is the premise for the local authorities to guide development with a view to transforming Long An into a dynamic, efficient, and sustainable economic centre in the southern region by 2030. It would serve as a gateway on the urban-industrial economic corridor of the Mekong Delta, closely connecting with Ho Chi Minh City and the southeast region, and becoming an important cooperation and trading hub with Cambodia.

According to the development master plan, the province’s socioeconomic activities are organised under the model of one centre, two economic corridors, three socioeconomic regions, and six dynamic axes. Specifically, Tan An city is the political, administrative, and satellite city of Ho Chi Minh City, and is the centre of commerce, service, and high-tech industry in the northeast Mekong Delta.

The two corridors will comprise belt roads 3 and 4 in the Ho Chi Minh City greater region and a development corridor in southern Long An. Additionally, Long An will encompass three key areas, namely urban industrial zones (IZs), high-tech agricultural-tourism areas, and border gate economic-ecological buffer zones.

Long An will develop an urban and industrial area with a focus on urban development and general industry, forming a central urban development corridor in Ben Luc-Tan An and industrial areas in Duc Hoa, Can Giuoc, and Can Duoc districts. The province is also developing economic zones in Can Giuoc and Can Duoc districts, suburban agriculture, specialised cultivation, and high technology in Chau Thanh and Tan Tru districts as well as in Tan An city.

Key economic sectors

For high-tech agricultural area, tourism, and the border-gate economy, the province not only develops services and industry in border-gate economic zones but is also developing ecotourism associated with the typical landscape of the Dong Thap Muoi region, striving to make its tourism a national brand closely associated with the province’s tourism.

Long An will also transform Kien Tuong town into the centre of the Dong Thap Muoi region.

With regards to an ecological buffer zone, Long An is developing high-tech agriculture and is reserving land for industrial development, ecological urban areas, and interprovincial transit zones.

According to the plan, the processing, manufacturing, and renewable energy industries will be the key economic sectors of the province. To facilitate the goal, Long An continues to effectively implement solutions to restructure the industries, with a focus on developing supporting, processing, and energy industries.

In addition, Long An will implement the supporting industry development programme for 2018-2025. At the same time, the province also focuses on attracting investment, especially from international corporations, with strong branded products to facilitate links, develop production and consumption of supporting industry products, and form sustainable supply chains.

In an effort to facilitate investors, Nguyen Van Ut, Chairman of Long An People’s Committee, said that by 2030, the province will develop 17 new IZs, increasing the total number to 51 and covering nearly 12,500 hectares. An additional 28 industrial clusters will also be developed over 1,800ha, raising the total number of clusters to 72 with a total area of just under 4,000ha. Therefore, investors can take advantage of stronger conditions such as developed infrastructure and investment incentives to expand their investment in the locality.

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