Mộc Bài International Border Gate in Tây Ninh Province. The province was urged to focus more on infrastructure development and policies to attract investment into the Mộc Bài border economic zone. – Photo thanhnien.vn

TÂY NINH — Tây Ninh Province needs to focus more on developing the Mộc Bài border economic zone’s infrastructure and investment to help it reach its economic potential, experts have said.

During a recent conference in Tây Ninh, Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng, deputy party secretary of the province, said that Tây Ninh plays a key role in connecting southern provinces to Cambodia, the Greater Mekong Sub-region, and other ASEAN countries, which lends strategic importance to its Mộc Bài border gate.

Nguyễn Thành Tâm, party secretary of Tây Ninh Province, said that the over 21,000 hectares Mộc Bài border economic zone is one of the first of its kind in Việt Nam, and the central government pays a great deal of attention to it.

Nguyễn Xuân Thắng, chairman of the Central Theory Council, said, “Mộc Bài has great potential to become the intersection of the Southern economic corridor.”

However, development on the area has been slow, and its ability to attract businesses is still limited.

After over 20 years, Mộc Bài border economic zone has only received VNĐ1 trillion (US$42.7 million) worth of investment, which is not enough to develop it, even though the province’s fiscal space is high, he said.

Võ Thành Thống, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, said that Tây Ninh needs to utilise the area’s existing natural and labour advantages to build policies to attract investment.

The province should focus on favourable tax policies for businesses, administrative procedures reform, and co-operation with relevant authorities and neighbouring Cambodia.

Synchronised development of infrastructure for business production, export and import, and locals’ lives is also important, especially Mộc Bài’s traffic infrastructure, he said.

Nguyễn Xuân Thắng said that the completion of the under-construction HCM City – Mộc Bài Expressway will also play a big role in the zone’s development, as it can shorten travel distance to HCM City’s Tân Sơn Nhất Airport.

Both funding from the State and private investment are important, he added.

Mộc Bài International Border Gate is the largest land border gate in the South. — VNS