Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province

Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province is located on the coast of Vietnam's southeastern region, adjacent to Dong Nai province in the North, Ho Chi Minh City in the West, Binh Thuan province in the East and the China Sea in the South. It also includes the Con Dao islands, located some distance off the southeastern coast. Ba Ria-Vung Tau is in the key economic region in southern Vietnam, including seven provinces, namely Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Long An and Tay Ninh.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province has an area of 1,982 square kilometers and a population of around 1 million people. However, it contributes greatly to the country's budget, around 24 percent in 2005 (VND42 trillion out of total VND180 trillion), ranking second after Ho Chi Minh City and coming in before Hanoi. In 2008, Ba Ria-Vung Tau ranked first in terms of GDP per capital at US$4,500 (excluding petroleum GDP), followed by Ho Chi Minh City at US$2,500 and Hanoi at US$1,500.

The province's economic activities include petroleum (the most important), electricity production (accounting for approx. 40 percent of the country's total power capacity), petrochemicals, polyethylene, steel and cement production. Tourism, commerce and fishing are also important economic activities of the province.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau is also one of the leading foreign direct investment locations one of the top five FDI acquisition provinces of Vietnam. In 2007, the province ranked fifth among cities and provinces for attracting FDI in Vietnam, accounting for 1.8 percent of all projects and 7.2 percent of registered capital. In 2008, Ba Ria-Vung Tau ranked second out of a total of 43 cities and provinces nationwide with four projects registering US$9.35 billion, accounting for 15.5 percent of total registered capital. In the first half of 2009, the province attracted seven new projects and two expanded projects with registered capital of US$6.46 billion, accounting for 72.8 percent. 

Transportation

Air: There are two airports: Vung Tau Airport in Vung Tau City and Co Ong Airport on Con Dao Island, accommodating helicopters which mostly serve for petroleum exploration and exploitation and the transportation of passengers from Vung Tau to Con Dao Island, Ho Chi Minh City or Singapore. The Long Thanh International Airport currently under construction in Dong Nai province is 70 kilometers away from Vung Tau City and 20 kilometers away from the province's border.

Sea: There are around 20 harbors along the rivers and coastal areas: Vietsovpetro and PTSC (which can harbor 10,000-ton ships), Petroleum K2 and Commerce (which can harbor 5,000-ton ships), and Cat Lo and Phuoc Tinh (which can harbor 1,000-2,000-ton ships). In particular, the 300 meter-long deep water port Ba Ria-Serece along the Thi Vai River can harbor 60,000-ton ships. The maximum capacity of the harbors in the province can reach 80 million tons per year.

Road: The main roads running through and connecting Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province to key destinations are:

• National Highways 51 and 56: linking Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai Province
• National Highway 55: linking Binh Thuan Province

 Industrial parks in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province

According to the government's master plan of socioeconomic development in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province from 2001-2010, there were only to be nine industrial parks established with a total area of 4,460 hectares.

As of 2009 however, 12 industrial parks have been established with a total area of around 7,000 hectares. Of these, seven are newly established or have been expanded over the past three years, including the newly established My Xuan B1-Tien Hung (200 hectares), My Xuan B-Dai Duong (145.7 hectares), Phu My III (800 hectares), Long Son (1,250 hectares) and Chau Duc (1,550 hectares); and the expanded Phu My II (403 hectares) and My Xuan A2 (109 hectares). In 2009, two more industrial parks, Dat Do IP (500 hectares) and Long Huong (400 hectares), are expected.

By the end of 2008, all 12 industrial parks in Ba Ria-Vung Tau had attracted a total of 194 projects with a total registered capital of US$11.4 billion in a land area of 1,897 hectares, about 36 percent of thetotal land area. This included:

• Foreign direct investment: 96 projects with a total capital of US$8.35 billion
• Domestic investment: 98 projects with a total capital of US$3.1 billion

The total number of laborers working in industrial parks by the end of 2008 were 25,200.