New Economic Zone to be Built in Mekong Delta

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Apr. 20 – A plan to build a new economic zone in the Cuu Long or Mekong Delta has been approved to include Can Tho City and the three provinces of An Giang, Kien Giang and Ca Mau.

The zone will specialize on rice production, farming, fishing and processing of marine products as well as be a center of bio-technology, a supplier of plant seedlings and breeder animals, technical services, and processor and exporter of agricultural products.

This will boost the area’s average GDP growth rate to 1.2 times higher than the national average from 2009 to 2010 then 1.25 times higher from 2011 to 2020.

By 2010, the area’s national GDP contribution will jump from the current 10.5 percent to 11.6 percent and eventually to 13.3 percent by 2020.

The zone will also help develop the plains and coastal areas in addition to the delta economy relying on the sea.

The government has announced it would increase infrastructure investment in the No.1 National Highway, roads on Phu Quoc Island and airports in the vicinity of the zone to be financed through the state budget, government bonds and official development assistance.

The Mekong Delta is Vietnam’s biggest rice basket supplying 90 percent of total rice exports. It spans almost 4 million hectares and comprises of 12 percent of the country’s total land mass.