The enchanting nighttime view of My Tho city

To find out more, our reporter has an exclusive interview with Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thong, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment, Tien Giang province.

Tien Giang has been strongly impressed by giant projects from domestic and foreign investors in recent years. Could you please tell us about investment attraction and business development results?

To create resources and utilize local potential advantages in socioeconomic development, Tien Giang has concentrated on many solutions to strongly improve the investment and business environment, promote investment and boost investment attraction.

At the Tien Giang Planning Announcement and Investment Promotion Conference 2024, the province announced a list of 40 priority investment projects in the following areas: Urban and residential area development (13 projects); trade, and tourism services (seven projects); industry (12 projects); infrastructure: Education, health, culture, sports and environment (five projects); and agriculture (three projects).

Regarding investment attraction, Tien Giang attracted 16 new projects with a combined registered investment capital of VND8,861.76 billion in the first 11 months of 2024, up 13.5% year on year, and allowed 11 existing projects to add VND 8,020.42 billion to their registered fund, an increase of 2.25 times from the same period in 2023. The total registered investment fund jumped 51% year on year to VND16,882.18 billion in the January-November period of 2024. From 2021 to November 2024, Tien Giang attracted 56 new investment projects with a registered capital of VND22,078 billion, including 22 FDI projects with about VND2,043 billion. The total licensed investment capital fund reached about VND42,898 billion in the past nearly four years, approximately equal to that in the previous five years (2016 - 2020). This has made Tien Giang a top destination for investment projects in the Mekong Delta, especially FDI projects.

Regarding business development, the number of newly established corporations has tended to increase year after year. In 2024, the province had over 900 newly established companies, bringing the total corporate establishments to 3,274 in 2021-2024. New companies with an increasing scale operate in many industries, suitable for provincial and national development.

Tien Giang is resolutely carrying out green growth and sustainable development goals coupled with natural and environmental protection. What solutions has the department advised the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee to boost green investment?

Tien Giang defined green growth coupled with natural and environmental protection to achieve rapid and sustainable development goals. The province has adopted many institutions, policies and solutions on green growth and sustainable development.

Accordingly, the department has advised completing the Tien Giang Provincial Planning for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050, approved by the Prime Minister (December 31, 2023) with many specific goals, viewpoints, directions and solutions, as a basis for integrating green growth and sustainable development. The agency has coordinated with the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee to consistently synchronize plans in the province and harmonize them with the Provincial Planning, especially construction - urban planning and land-use planning to effectively tap local potential advantages, especially to unlock investment capital, land and human resources to drive the province's economy to grow rapidly and sustainably in the following years, especially in the period 2025 - 2030.

Up to now, no establishments have been found causing serious environmental pollution in the province. Up to 99% of municipal solid waste and 100% of hazardous industrial waste are collected and treated according to the given standards. In addition, 98.79% of production, trading and service facilities treat waste according to environmental standards; 95.83% of medical facilities have wastewater treatment systems according to environmental standards and regulations; and 100% of medical facilities collect and treat medical solid waste.

Moreover, the Provincial People's Committee issued Plan 306/KH-UBND dated August 16, 2024 on improving the Provincial Green Index (PGI) of Tien Giang in 2024. This plan requires leaders of provincial agencies and branches and leaders of district-level government to grasp the content and activities, focusing on four key tasks and solutions: Minimizing environmental pollution and negative climate impacts (applied to businesses), ensuring compliance with minimum environmental standards, the leadership of the provincial government in environmental protection and business support policies and services in environmental protection.

As a result, this has helped enhance the investment and business environment and ensure balanced economic and social development and environmental protection.

According to data released by VCCI, the Provincial Green Index (PGI) of Tien Giang significantly improved, ranking 14th out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide in 2023.

Provincial leaders present certificates of merit to entrepreneurs in recognition of their outstanding achievements on the occasion of Vietnam Entrepreneurs’ Day  2024

The Tien Giang Provincial Planning for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050, sets the goal that Tien Giang will basically become an industrial province with a synchronous and modern infrastructure system by 2030. To achieve the above goal, what requirements and tasks will the province execute to attract investment capital?

According to the Provincial Planning, by 2030, Tien Giang will basically become an industrial province with a synchronous and modern infrastructure system and with dynamic regions and become an economic center for industry, tourism, marine economy and urban development. The province plays an important connecting role between the Mekong Delta region with Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast. National defense, security and social order and safety are ensured. People have a prosperous, civilized and happy life.

To realize this goal, the province set out development orientations and priorities: One strip, two centers, three development breakthroughs and four economic corridors.

Accordingly, the province will have one strip along the Tien River; two centers - Tan Phuoc and Go Cong; four economic corridors - economic corridor along Trung Luong - My Thuan Expressway, economic corridor along National Highway 1 and National Highway 50B, economic corridor along the coastal road and National Highway 50, economic corridor along the Tien River connecting its urban and industrial areas with the Mekong Delta, In addition, it will have three development breakthroughs - Infrastructure, administrative reform and investment environment improvement, and human resources.

Given its river-based advantages, Tien Giang will focus on attracting investment capital for unlocking local strengths, with priority given to projects engaged in infrastructure investment in industrial parks, trade, services, tourism, industry, high-tech agriculture, urban areas, residential areas, clean energy and renewable energy. The province will turn down projects prone to environmental pollution risks, as follows:

In agriculture, priority is given to attracting investment capital for comprehensive development of high-tech agriculture, agricultural processing, especially fruit processing, to increase the value and stability of local agricultural products, including companies, agricultural zones and production areas to produce key agricultural and aquatic products.

In industry, the province will draw investment capital for industrial zone infrastructure (Tan Phuoc 2, Tan Phuoc 3, Tan Phuoc 4, Soai Rap, Phu Tan and other industrial parks) and secondary projects in infrastructure-completed industrial zones (like Long Giang, Binh Dong, Tan Phuoc 1, Gia Thuan 1 and Gia Thuan 2) in the two key industrial regions (Tan Phuoc and Go Cong). It will prioritize industrial development that brings high economic performance, tap locational and comparative advantages of the province, the labor potential of the province and the region, thus helping boost stronger and more sustainable economic development.

Tien Giang province will attract investment capital for developing urban areas and residential areas to support their stronger urbanization and modernization. In trade and services, the province will concentrate on drawing investment capital for tourism development by tapping advantageous land, climate and human resources and forming tourism centers, clusters and routes along international and national economic corridors connected with tourism centers in Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta, and the Mekong River Sub-region. It will give priority to calling for investment capital for developing high-end entertainment areas, large-scale shopping centers, and wholesale markets for agricultural and aquatic products. Furthermore, the locality will prioritize investment in logistics development, especially in Go Cong coastal areas, Soai Rap River and Tho City (Tien River).

Siding with businesses and investors, the province will continue to strongly improve the investment and business environment in a favorable and transparent manner and advance digital transformation. In addition to its proposed programs and plans, the province will focus on carrying out some key solutions. First of all, it will effectively execute the Tien Giang Provincial Planning for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050, approved by the Prime Minister.

At the same time, Tien Giang will review, adjust and establish construction - urban planning and land-use planning in sync with the Provincial Planning, promptly announce and widely publicize plans, investment projects and administrative procedures approved by competent authorities; build a planning information portal for all businesses and people to know and follow. It will employ many resources (central and local budgets and private investment) to invest in synchronous infrastructure (transportation, electricity supply and water supply) to facilitate investment projects to be implemented and operated smoothly and conveniently. It will focus on training human resources from universal education to vocational training and human resources development to meet recruitment needs of projects in particular and development needs of the province in general.

In addition, Tien Giang province will focus on removing difficulties, reviewing and simplifying administrative procedures; pay attention to and siding with businesses in a practical way; improving the effectiveness and efficiency of authorities in business development; increase government-business meetings and dialogues in many appropriate forms. The province will continue to implement tasks and solutions to enhance the effect of business support and development.

Thank you so much!