Nguyen Hai Ninh, Secretary of Khanh Hoa Party Committee

Chau Ngo Anh Nhan, deputy director of Khanh Hoa Department of Planning and Investment, told VIR in late March that important legal fundaments are now in place to complement the province’s efforts to reach breakthroughs in development.

According to Nhan, in January 2022, Resolution No.09-NQ/TW was issued on construction and development of Khanh Hoa province to 2030, with a vision to 2045.

To implement it, Khanh Hoa People’s Committee issued Decision No.1165/QD-UBND dated April 2022 on implementing the action plan of both the government and the provincial Party Committee.

“Following that, the National Assembly issued Resolution No.55/2022/QH15 dated June 2022 on piloting specific mechanisms for the development of the province, including a specific policy to attract strategic investors to Van Phong Economic Zone.” Nhan said.

The province is gearing efforts into perfecting important planning schemes, including Khanh Hoa master planning for the decade; revised general construction planning of Nha Trang city towards 2040; revised general planning of Van Phong Economic Zone in the same time frame; and the general planning of the Cam Lam new urban area to 2045.

“Along with that, the province aims for completion of sub-zone planning attuned with the provincial master planning and approved general planning as a basis to call for investment,” Nhan said.

Meanwhile, efforts will be exerted into accelerating administrative procedure reform along with improving the provincial competitiveness index.

Some solutions towards this goal involve putting into operation the Public Administrative Services Centre, associated with the online public administrative service portal in the one-stop-shop format, and building the investment promotion portal to further enhance the quality of information provision for investors.

Next is the implementation of the district and department competitiveness assessment index, and adjusting the role and functions of the Centre for Investment Promotion and Business Support under the Department of Planning and Investment, together with the establishment of a steering committee on investment promotion with the aim of not only accelerating procedures but also enhancing the role of business support and development connection in business practice.

Simultaneously, Khanh Hoa is making strides to strengthen face-to-face business contact and dialogue mechanisms leveraging digital platforms to be able to promptly remove obstacles in investment and business.

The province also wants to accelerate the pace of important infrastructure projects with strategic connectivity, such as highways passing through the province. Landing new ventures and upgrading the important seaport system according to approved plans to promote land/water transport connectivity are also a must, besides expediting clean water supply, clean energy, and environmental protection projects.

In addition, it will call for ventures providing high-quality social infrastructure such as international hospitals, expanding the network of major universities and high-quality vocational training centres, establishing a software centre to attract experts, and training personnel to form a sci-tech ecosystem ready to provide technology solutions in production.

In particular, Khanh Hoa continues to improve leadership management capacity, especially promoting the role of the leadership in implementing tasks tailored for each industry and field, combined with availing of digital transformation benefits serving businesses and management.

Pillars for development

To mark the 370th anniversary of Khanh Hoa’s formation and development and 48 years of Khanh Hoa’s liberation, the province hosted a major conference to shed exposure to the province’s important planning schemes and investment promotion on April 2 in Nha Trang city, with around 1,000 delegates.

“This is a valued opportunity for the province to introduce specific development orientations, thereby inviting investors to participate in the development of the province,” said Anh Nhan from the Department of Planning and Investment.

“The province also seeks to efficiently charming foreign-led projects, especially calling for investors into Van Phong Economic Zone (EZ) to tap into marine economy potential, and resorting to diplomatic channels to approach new potential investors for the development of oriented industries.”

On March 8, Khanh Hoa People’s Committee submitted a report to the provincial People’s Council seeking approval of a planning scheme for the 2021-2030 period.

In light of the report, by 2030, Khanh Hoa envisions to become a city directly under management of the central government; an upscale ocean tourism and service centre; and serving as a growth pole for the south-central coast and the Central Highlands in terms of marine economy, high-tech industry, sci-tech and innovation, human resource training, and high-quality healthcare.

The province’s regional GDP per capita carves a spot in the top 15 localities countrywide, in which Van Phong EZ and Cam Lam new urban area serve as a new driving force for the province and the south-central region.

Buoyed by a seamless infrastructure, the urban system will be developing in a smart and sustainable manner, rich in identity with a number of world-class cities. The ecological environment and natural landscape are well protected, having the capacity to respond effectively to climate change implications.

By 2050, Khanh Hoa would grow into a major marine centre; a smart and sustainable city on par with regional peers in Asia; and one of the leading liveable coastal cities, empowered by a modern and synchronous infrastructure system. The economic, social, and administrative activities of the government will be operating mainly in the form of the digital economy and digital society.

Manufacturing and service industries develop in a smart way following green and circular economy models. The environment and natural landscape are well-preserved, especially the marine and coastal environment.

Beyond all, Khanh Hoa would be named among the top localities when it comes to realising Vietnam’s goal of bringing greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050.

To realise the set goals, Khanh Hoa has crafted four development pillars. First, it wants to continue to promote administrative reform, improve the local business investment environment, strongly develop all kinds of markets to enhance investment attraction, and mobilise all resources inside and outside the province for socioeconomic development.

Secondly, strong development is called for in terms of high-quality human resources, focusing on key industries such as tourism, the processing industry, manufacturing, seaport logistics services, fisheries, logistics, and IT. It also wants to promote innovation and create favourable conditions for startups.

Furthermore, Khanh Hoa wishes to mobilise and effectively avail of diverse resources in society to create breakthroughs in seamless and modern socioeconomic infrastructure, placing emphasis on key projects with high spillover effects. It will build and develop provincial databases in sync with national data infrastructure, creating a foundation for digital transformation and developing a digital economy and society.

Finally, focus will be placed on developing pivotal areas, including Van Phong Bay, Nha Trang city, Cam Ranh Bay, and the Cam Lam new urban area to create new development impetus. It will comprehensively develop high-grade ocean tourism and resorts, seaports and logistics, the processing and manufacturing industry, a modern and environmentally friendly energy industry, and transform Cam Lam into a modern, ecological, and world-class urban airport centre.