The Da Nang People's Committee recently submitted a document to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for approving a project for the establishment of a free trade zone.
Under the terms of the scheme, priority development fields across the 2,317-hectare free trade zone will focus on the production of high-value export items, logistics, trade and service, innovation centers, and linkages between the free trade zone and the regional financial center.
Le Thi Kim Phuong, director of the Da Nang Department of Industry and Trade, emphasised that the city will consider issues related to planning, the assessment of site clearance and compensation; as well as evaluating the spheres related to labour, social security, national security, and defence.
“In particular, we will also take into account traffic links to determine the amount of budget the city needs to invest in building infrastructure works to facilitate the establishment of the zone,” Phuong added.
Sharing this perspective, architect Vu Quang Hung, head of the Management Board of Da Nang High-Tech Park and Industrial Zones, pointed out that the establishment of the zone will encourage international business activities by reducing tariffs and simplifying legal regulations.
Infrastructure should link to functional areas in the zone, as well as other areas in the city such as seaports, airports, industrial parks, high-tech zones, and digital industrial parks in a bid to ensure its effective operation, he pointed out.
The architect analyzed that linking to Lien Chieu port will create favourable conditions for a free trade zone as the port area has industrial parks, clusters, and high-tech parks.
Indeed, the Da Nang free trade zone can combine with functional areas in the city’s northwestern region to turn itself into the country’s fourth special economic zone in the future.
The Da Nang free trade zone is forecast to contribute between 8% and 9% to the city's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) by 2030 with this rising to 25% by 2050.
Simultaneously, the zone is expected to attract a large number of experts in high value-added fields, generating jobs to about 41,000 workers by 2030 and about 137,000 workers by 2050.
The proposed investment roadmap for the construction of the Da Nang Free Trade Zone includes two phases. During the first phase until 2029, there will be newly-built Lien Chieu Wharf and port logistics areas, ensuring receiving vessels of up to 100,000 tonnes or larger.
During the second phase after 2029, the city plans to expand the Free Trade Zone in the Tien Sa port and urban reconstruction areas in the city centre.
With regard to the method of capital mobilisation, the state will allocate a budget for infrastructure development projects and is responsible for site clearance or land rental deduction in the event that the strategic investor carries out site clearance and invests in infrastructure.
Le Trung Chinh, chairman of the Da Nang City People's Committee, affirmed that the city will propose preferential policies on tax and land in order to create optimal conditions possible for strategic investors and to attract maximum private resources.
With the establishment of the free trade zone, Da Nang aims to successfully implement an unprecedented model in the nation which boasts superior institutions in line with international standards, according to him.
It will provide the basis for piloting new policies whilst serving to create a premise for legalising regulations on free trade zones for the whole country.
This will also offer numerous opportunities for the Vietnamese logistics service industry to develop and get further involved in the global logistics supply chain moving forward, he said.
Earlier on November 15, the Politburo approved a project on building a regional and international financial center in Vietnam. Under the terms of the project, Da Nang proposed deploying a multi-component ecosystem in the core areas on Vo Van Kiet street and adjacent to Vo Nguyen Giap street.
According to the project, the centre will consist of a separate financial area with open and competitive tax and regulations while investors are considered as foreign enterprises.
Currently, the city has been making careful preparations for the establishment of the free trade zone and the regional financial center by investing in infrastructure, designing plans to develop workforce, as well as setting up groups of officials and experts to study international experience.
These two new models are anticipated to give fresh impetus for Da Nang in particular and the country in general to make breakthroughs in the new era.
