Bai Sao beach, a popular tourist spot on Phu Quoc Island of the southern province Kien Giang. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - With its advantages fully recognised,the southern “emerald island” of Phu Quoc off of Kien Giang province is set tolive up to its title of a special administrative-economic zone.
Many investors are flocking towards the“promised land,” especially since early 2014 when the island was connected tothe national electrical grid via submarine cables.
On the sides of the main road from the coastalDuong Dong town – lying at the midsection of the island – to the southern tip,several hotels, restaurants, apartment complexes and resorts are underconstruction – the majority of these projects owned by big-name corporations,domestic and foreign. Similarly, to the north, tourist and entertainmentcomplexes with scales ranging from vast to medium-sized have popped up inrecent months.
Nguyen Thong Nhat, head of the management boardfor investment and development of Phu Quoc Island, says that at the moment, 265projects are underway or set to be operational on the island, covering a totalarea of 10,500 ha. Of this figure, 197 projects – covering 7,200ha, and with totalcommitted investment of 218 trillion VND (9.592 billion USD) have only beengranted investment permits, 31 projects have already become operational, 24 areundergoing construction, while the remainder are “finalising investmentprocedures.”
“Among these projects, 26 are foreign directinvestment (FDI) with total capital set to reach 290 million USD,” Nhat told theTien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper.
Aside from the private sector projects, severallarge-scale public projects are being carried out throughout the island to meetthe demands of an economy growing at 25-30 percent a year, said Huynh QuangHung, Vice Chairman of Phu Quoc People’s Committee.
Most notable projects arethe Phu Quoc international airport (phase 2) with total investment of 3trillion VND (132 million USD); the 51.5km long north-south axis road – withinvestment of 2.5 trillion VND (110 million USD) – which has achieved 92 percentcompletion; and the 100km island-bound road, with investment of more than 3trillion VND (68 percent of the workload has been finished). Other projectsinclude upgrading the An Thoi fishing port, breakwater construction anddredging at the Duong Dong river’s outfall, as well as an internationalpassenger port in Dong Duong.
Robust growth
Together with the influx of investment, thestream of tourists to the island has also seen a dramatic increase, said Hung.
The number of tourists coming to Phu Quoc in2016 rose 63 percent compared to 2015, and the first six months of 2017 saw a44 percent increase compared to the same period in 2016, while the number ofinternational tourists increased by 77 percent.
The island is also receiving an influx of peoplefrom the mainland looking for job opportunities.
Tran Van Phuong, 25, hailing from An Giang province, came here 2 years ago to work as an ironworker for the numerousconstruction projects underway on the island.
“I can earn 300,000 VND (13.2 USD) for a day’s work,double the amount I get back in my hometown, in addition to free meals,” Phuongsaid.
Despite higher living costs on the island thanon the mainland, but offset by higher income, there is an increasing number ofpeople from all over the country arriving here seeking jobs.
A tremendous amount of energy is required todrive the booming development of the island. According to Nguyen Van Minh, headof Phu Quoc Electricity Company, the average year-on-year electricityproduction growth rate is over 103.48 percent. Electricity output hasincreased from 57.4 million kWh in 2013 to an estimated 297 million kWh in2017.
However, accompanying this bubbling growth arenumerous “headaches” that the authorities need to address, especially in termsof environmental protection, said Huynh Quang Hung.Waste treatment facilities on the island are still lacking – the wastetreatment plant is still being built, a plan for a wastewater treatment systemremains on paper due to lack of funds.
The stream of workers coming from otherlocalities also pose an array of public order issues in certain areas.
In addition, Hung said, the number of complaintsand lawsuits concerning the land compensation rate is also on the rise.
More robust government
Hopes are high for a special zone unburdened bycommon constraints and enjoying privileges other localities can only dream of.
Ass. Prof. Dr Tran Dinh Thien, head of the Vietnam Institute of Economics, in a conference discussing policies for Phu Quoc,said that the competitiveness of the locality must be raised to an “outstandinglevel, of the highest order.”
To fully achieve its full potential and live upto its future status, Chairman of Kien Giang province People’s Committee, PhamVu Hong, stressed the life-and-death need for a new policy mechanism for Phu Quoc as a special administrative-economic unit.
According to Hong, Phu Quoc “has an economy on ascale equal to that of a full-fledged province, but its governing body remainsthe same as one governing a district.”-VNA
Together with the influx of investment, thestream of tourists to the island has also seen a dramatic increase, said Hung.
The number of tourists coming to Phu Quoc in2016 rose 63 percent compared to 2015, and the first six months of 2017 saw a44 percent increase compared to the same period in 2016, while the number ofinternational tourists increased by 77 percent.
The island is also receiving an influx of peoplefrom the mainland looking for job opportunities.
Tran Van Phuong, 25, hailing from An Giang province, came here 2 years ago to work as an ironworker for the numerousconstruction projects underway on the island.
“I can earn 300,000 VND (13.2 USD) for a day’s work,double the amount I get back in my hometown, in addition to free meals,” Phuongsaid.
Despite higher living costs on the island thanon the mainland, but offset by higher income, there is an increasing number ofpeople from all over the country arriving here seeking jobs.
A tremendous amount of energy is required todrive the booming development of the island. According to Nguyen Van Minh, headof Phu Quoc Electricity Company, the average year-on-year electricityproduction growth rate is over 103.48 percent. Electricity output hasincreased from 57.4 million kWh in 2013 to an estimated 297 million kWh in2017.
However, accompanying this bubbling growth arenumerous “headaches” that the authorities need to address, especially in termsof environmental protection, said Huynh Quang Hung.Waste treatment facilities on the island are still lacking – the wastetreatment plant is still being built, a plan for a wastewater treatment systemremains on paper due to lack of funds.
The stream of workers coming from otherlocalities also pose an array of public order issues in certain areas.
In addition, Hung said, the number of complaintsand lawsuits concerning the land compensation rate is also on the rise.
More robust government
Hopes are high for a special zone unburdened bycommon constraints and enjoying privileges other localities can only dream of.
Ass. Prof. Dr Tran Dinh Thien, head of the Vietnam Institute of Economics, in a conference discussing policies for Phu Quoc,said that the competitiveness of the locality must be raised to an “outstandinglevel, of the highest order.”
To fully achieve its full potential and live upto its future status, Chairman of Kien Giang province People’s Committee, PhamVu Hong, stressed the life-and-death need for a new policy mechanism for Phu Quoc as a special administrative-economic unit.
According to Hong, Phu Quoc “has an economy on ascale equal to that of a full-fledged province, but its governing body remainsthe same as one governing a district.”-VNA
VNA
