VIỆN NGHIÊN CỨU QUẢN LÝ KINH TẾ TRUNG ƯƠNG

CỔNG THÔNG TIN KINH TẾ VIỆT NAM

Tin mới

Economic dynamo (28/12)

06/08/2010 - 136 Lượt xem

Its establishment will create a dynamic move forward for development in the southern part of Thanh Hoa province and the northern part of Nghe An province, and for the north-central region of Vietnam as a whole.

Dynamic move forward

NEZ covers a total area of 18,612 hectares, is 40 kilometres south of Thanh Hoa city near its border with Nghe An province with the South China Sea to the east, and has advantages in terms of road, waterway and railway transport. According to its plan, NEZ will be built on land belonging to 12 communes in Tinh Gia district.

NEZ’s infrastructure includes electricity, water, transportation and other services and is now under construction, which will support domestic, regional and global economic exchange. Roads and railways will connect the economic area with economic strongholds in the northern, central and southern regions. The zone will be a dynamic economic area to promote the economic development of Thanh Hoa province and it surrounds.

According to Mr Nguyen Van Loi, Chairman of the Thanh Hoa People’s Committee, the NEZ will include multi-functions and multi-sectors focusing on heavy and basic industries such as oil refining, the high-end steel industry, shipbuilding and repair, the thermo-electric industry, the construction materials industry, consumer goods production, and manufacturing and exporting.

Moreover, NEZ will become a centre for seaports, warehousing and international goods transportation, tourism and high-quality entertainment. There will also be a modern urban area attached to industrial and service developments.

Welcoming investors

According to the plan approved by the Prime Minister, from now to 2010 the investment and business environment at NEZ will have advantages in mechanisms and clear policies and develop important socio-economic works to attract local and foreign investors in developing infrastructure, manufacturing and business operations. After 2010, NEZ will continue developing and modernising its infrastructure to implement the plan and develop key projects, industrial areas, tourist areas, entertainment areas and other socio-economic activities.

There will be tax area and tax-free area. The tax area includes urban areas, industrial areas, seaports and logistics areas, a tourism-service area and a residential area.

The tax-free area includes primary business operations such as outsourcing manufacturing, re-production, assembly, goods trading, services trading and trade promotion.

All investment projects at NEZ will benefit from preferential policies applied to areas in socio-economic difficulty and the policies now applied to economic zones in Vietnam in accordance with the Investment Law. They will also enjoy a corporate income tax (CIT) rate of 10 per cent for 15 years, a tax exemption for four years and a 50 per cent reduction for nine continuous years, and an import tax exemption for five years for materials for production.

Some special projects will enjoy a CIT rate of 10 per cent during the project’s implementation. In particular, foreigners and overseas Vietnamese working at NEZ and their families will be issued visas and have the right to temporarily reside at NEZ.

Mr Loi confirmed that Thanh Hoa province continues to create favourable conditions for investors to benefit to a maximum with the lowest obligations, and solves all administrative procedures in the shortest time with its “one-door” mechanism. Moreover, investors will be safe, with security guaranteed when operating in Thanh Hoa province.

Initial steps

The management board at NEZ has begun to build infrastructure, including roads, seaports, electricity, water, post offices, etc. Social infrastructure like schools, hospitals, banks, and treasury have been upgraded and broadened. Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) has submitted a general plan to the Ministry of Industry for the Nghi Son Electricity Centre, with the total capacity of its three thermo-electric plants being 2,400 MW, of which Nghi Son 1 has 600 MW starting operations in 2010 - 2011, Nghi Son 2 has 600 MW and will operate in 2015, and Nghi Son 3 has 1,200MW and will open in 2018-2019. The plants cover a total of 165 hectares. Nghi Son 1 is now under construction, to create a base for the electricity centre. 

Another project is the Nghi Son Cement Factory - a joint venture with Japan - which will have a capacity of 2.15 tons per year and will then double capacity. The Cong Thanh Cement Factory was built in July in Tan Truong Commune, Tinh Gia district, with synchronous and modern equipment and assembly lines of advanced global standard.

The designed capacity in the first phase is 2,500 tons of clinker per day (equivalent to 750,000 tons clinker per year). The Vinashin Business Group has started construction of the Nghi Son shipbuilding yard with total investment capital of VND 600 billion and a capacity of 100,000 tons per year, which is expected to begin operations in 2008.

Another main project is the Nghi Son Oil Refinery, with total investment capital of $2.5 billion, of which $1.7 - 1.8 billion will be invested in the initial period. According to the plan, the complex will cover a total of 325 hectares, of which 100 hectares will be for widening producing capacity to 7 million tons of crude oil per year.

The project will produce fuels such as LPG, 90-92-95 gasoline, petroleum, diesel, FO, benzene, sulphur, and others. The first phase includes the oil refinery and a polypropylene factory with a capacity of 150,000-350,000 tons per year, and a polyester fabric factory with capacity of 260,000 tons per year will go into operation in 2008.

The second phase includes BTX workshops and PTA productions to produce materials and will begin in 2011-2012.

Source: Vietnam Economic Times