Chan May - Lang Co EZ: Sustainable Development
Unable to chop the gem
We can say there are not many EZs with a prime location like Chan May - Lang Co. The EZ lies between two central major cities of Da Nang and Hue, 36 km from Phu Bai international airport and 32km from Da Nang International airport, easily connected with international transport routes and associated regions such as the National Highway 1A and trans-Vietnam railway. Chan May Port is a gateway from the East Sea to the East-West Economic Corridor connecting Burma, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.
Chan May - Lang Co EZ is the center of the "Central Heritage Road", where within about 200 km, visitors can reach four world heritage sites of Vietnam, including Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park, the ancient Hue citadel, Hoi An and My Son. In addition, Lang Co Beach was voted one of the 30 most beautiful bays in the world, and is an investment destination of world-class tourism projects.
All the above features of Chan May - Lang Co make it a lucrative investment destination. Foreign investors brought a billion-dollar project on steel and thermal power. But under the perspective of sustainable development and “green” development, the provincial leaders have said "no" to this project. Chan May - Lang Co EZ selects investors and is the destination for advanced tourism resort projects and clean industry. Mr Ho Sy Nguyen, Chief of the Economic Zone Management Board, said: "We can not invest at all costs and can not chop Chan May-Lang Co gem".
To promote the value of this “gem", in the first days of building the EZ, the province has aggressively courted Nikken Sekkei Civil Engineering Company (the leading consultant in Japan) as consultant for two key functional areas of the EZ, which are Chan May port and Chan May “green” apartments.
Nikken Sekkei’s design ensured the harmonious development and sustainability of the EZ, and met the development goals of Chan May - Lang Co to become the "developing Southern point of the province, as an urban, industrial, tourism and service centre and the gateway to the important East-West Economic Corridor, contributing to help Hue soon become a central city".
Attractive destination
By 2013, Chan May - Lang Co has attracted 32 projects with total registered investment capital of VND35, 474 billion (of which, 10 FDI projects have total investment of VND21, 000 billion).
According to Mr Ho Sy Nguyen, Chief of Economic Zone Management Board, Chan May-Lang Co EZ has its own strategy for a breakthrough in the field of tourism by calling for international travel and tourism projects, and Laguna Lang Co project is a step in this direction. Laguna Lang Co is real breakthrough, not only in its scale of US$ 875 million (disbursed US$ 200 million in the first phase over three years), but also as a world-class brand of international investors. Through PR activities for the project in the first phase inauguration, the Triathlon event, and the inauguration of an 18-hole golf course, the brand and image of Chan May - Lang Co have been brought to new heights and attract domestic and international investors. Evaluating the project, Mr Hoang Tuan Anh, Minister of Culture - Sports and Tourism, said: "This project will change the tourism economy of Vietnam."
In addition, for the EZ to harmoniously develop and meet the goals of province-oriented development becoming the third grade urban area by 2020 (with a population of 170,000 people), calling big investors in the industrial sector with high technology is essential. Thus, there are about 3,000 hectares of industrial land (including duty free area) which has flat terrain, good geological structure and completed, comprehensive and modern infrastructure systems of transport, electricity and water. In addition, the institutions of social infrastructure such as the resettlement area (90 ha, capable of resettling 2,000 households), 200 bed hospital and schools have been built. Saigon Invest Group currently has 25,000 m2 of factories, and is completing compensation and site clearance and preparation of technical infrastructure for approximately 100 hectares in the industrial zone, to be ready for investors.
From these premises built in recent years, many prospects are opening up for Chan May-Lang Co. Mr Ho Sy Nguyen said: "I believe that with clear procedures, mechanisms, incentives to attract investment, particularly in the preferred green development, sustainability, the EZ will be a destination for environmentally friendly investment projects, an ideal home and a "Hometown of happiness" for the residents who live and work in the EZ”.
