Vietnam officials sent to Macau to study special economic zones, casinos

Phu Quoc Island map

The Vietnamese government has reviewed a major plan to establish a special economic zone on Phu Quoc Island off mainland Kien Giang Province and has assigned the Ministry of Planning and Investment to present it to the Politburo, The Saigon Times Daily revealed yesterday. A group has also been dispatched to study Macau’s experience.
The paper revealed that updates on the long-awaited plan were revealed this week at a review meeting in Can Tho City of the working group in charge of devising supporting policies and mechanisms for the development of Phu Quoc Island. Kien Giang presented the plan to the Ministry of Planning and Investment late last year, before it was submitted to the government for review.
Le Van Thi, chairman of Kien Giang and deputy head of the working group, said that “the Prime Minister had scrutinized the plan and assigned the ministry to present it to the Politburo on behalf of the Government.”
According to The Saigon Times Daily, Nguyen Phong Quang, head of the working team and deputy head of the Southwest Steering Committee, told the meeting that “after the plan was sent to the relevant agencies for comment, the group dispatched its staff to Macau to draw on [the SAR’s] experience in the development of special economic zones, especially in the fields of finance, services, seaports and casinos.”
According to Thi, after the Prime Minister issued Decision 80 on December 27, 2013 to approve a special development mechanism for Phu Quoc, the island was upgraded to a grade-two town. It now has a seaport, airport and clean water supply facilities; access to the national power grid; and a north-south road – all of which are believed to help attract more investors and to fuel tourism growth.
A total of 164 projects worth a combined VND168.93 trillion (USD7.7 billion) have been approved on Phu Quoc. Twenty-three of them, with registered capital totaling VND25.81 trillion, have been put into operation and 14 others worth VND11.38 trillion are under construction.
However, a lack of incentives and special policies, especially in terms of zoning and personnel, have resulted in some problems with development. For instance, land prices in many places on the island have skyrocketed, reads the Saigon daily.
Kien Giang is considering canceling delayed projects and assigning them to new investors with strong financial capability.
In addition to a zoo, which is home to 500 animals, a cable-car system stretching seven kilometers could be built to connect Phu Quoc Island and Thom Islet, which is envisioned to become a tourism complex, Thi said.
Asked by the Daily about the negative impact of garbage and wastewater on the island, Thi said that the province would invest in garbage treatment, and that enterprises would be required to build their own wastewater treatment facilities.
The province will ask the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to support major wastewater treatment projects like the one costing more than VND200 billion near Truong Beach, Thi noted.
Thi added that the Government has agreed on a scheme to upgrade the district island of Phu Quoc into a city, and the National Assembly’s approval is being sought for this.
Under the zoning plan, there will be around 4,300 hectares for tourism projects, 3,325 hectares for tourism and residential areas, and 1,234 hectares for forests. The island will also have an international passenger seaport in Duong Dong Town, a general port in Dat Do Bay, a square, also in Duong Dong, and a casino in Bai Dai.