Hai Phong striving to become major economic hub in Red River Delta. (Photo: VNA)

With the advantage of being a coastal city and convenient transportation, the city plays the role of not only an economic centre in the Red River Delta and the northern coastal region but also a gateway to the world.

Boasting a long coastline and a deep-sea port capable of habouring ships with tonnage of up to 12,000 TEU (132,000 tonnes), Hai Phong becomes a connection point to major international shipping routes through ports such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai (China). A direct transport route from Hai Phong to the European and American markets is also being formed.

Thanks to great investment for developing and upgrading important infrastructure facilities in the region, especially the Hanoi - Hai Phong expressway, Hai Phong’s advantages have been fully exploited.

According to Director of the municipal Department of Planning and Investment Nguyen Hoang Long, the city needs to have mechanisms and policies to remove difficulties and obstacles, and closely coordinate with localities in the delta to perform a number of key tasks and solutions.

Special attention should be paid to promoting seaport development and logistics industry, towards turning Hai Phong into a centre connected with domestic and foreign markets where added value is produced instead of merely being a centre for transshipment of goods; and investment should be prioritised to the renewable energy and new marine economic sectors, Long said.

Thanks to great investment for developing and upgrading important infrastructure facilities in the region, Hai Phong’s advantages have been fully exploited. (Photo: VNA)

Models of regional distribution centre (RDC) should be piloted in Hai Phong to promote the export of goods in the region, he noted.

Regional localities should strengthen cooperation in attracting investmnent to economic and industrial parks in the region, especially the Dinh Vu – Cat Hai Economic Zone in Hai Phong, and the Quang Yen Coastal Economic Zone in nearby Quang Ninh province, thus expanding development space, he went on.

The municipal authorities have actively developed a plan to cooperate with Hanoi and other localities throughout the country, especially those in the northern key economic region, in developing the industrial, agricultural and service sectors.

Hai Phong has also coordinated with localities within the “Two Corridors, One Belt” (TCOB) to develop a specific cooperation programme to effectively implement cooperation programmes between Vietnam and China.