Đồng Tháp Province's leaders speak with business leaders at a coffee meeting to share and tackle difficulties businesses have been facing. —Photo vir.com.vn

ĐỒNG THÁP — The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Đồng Tháp will focus more on developing its border economic zones' infrastructure with Cambodia to help it reach its economic potential, local authorities said.

The province has Hồng Ngự and Tân Hồng districts and the city of Hồng Ngự, which borders Cambodia. Currently, nearly VNĐ5 trillion (US$206 million) is being invested into infrastructure by the Government to boost the border economic zones, accounting for 20.5 per cent of the province's total public investment capital.

The province has established a steering committee for the construction of key traffic works from now to 2025, along with promulgating coordinated regulations and an implementation plan for construction of such works in the province during the period.

Đồng Tháp will gradually invest in connecting local areas with neighbouring provinces and build local routes to connect with truck roads. Key traffic routes serving the transportation of goods and passengers are being upgraded for the development of agricultural commodities, connecting urban areas, industrial parks (IPs) and clusters, and large raw material areas.

Some typical projects include the upgrading of National Highway No.30’s third-phase Cao Lãnh-Hồng Ngự section, building Provincial Road No.857 and roads in the South Tiền River area, among others.

Đồng Tháp is currently home to three industrial zones (IZs), including Sa Đéc, Sông Hậu, and Trần Quốc Tỏan. Tân Kiều IZ in Tháp Mười District is in the process of technical infrastructure construction and is expected to have the necessary funds within the year. The average occupancy rate of the three existing IPs is over 99 per cent.

At the same time, Đồng Tháp also embraces development of infrastructure at the border-gate economic zones and receives support from the central government to perfect the technical infrastructure system there to be able to attract investors.

Furthermore, Đồng Tháp has built 15 industrial clusters covering 547.7 hectares, of which 12 have been put into operation, with an occupancy rate of about 80 per cent of the total area of 404.7 ha.

Đồng Tháp's border economic zones now enjoy more favourable conditions for development after the Dinh Bà International Border-gate Economic Zone in Tân Hồng District implemented a road transport agreement between the two governments, Việt Nam and Cambodia.

This has inspired investors to pour more money into the region.

Đồng Tháp is emphasising construction management along with accelerating the pace of construction at diverse projects after building the technical infrastructure of these zones.

In addition, provincial leaders and those of diverse management agencies and local areas have taken part in regular meetings with businesses.

Provincial leaders have also hosted meetings in IZs to share and tackle difficulties businesses have been facing.

Đồng Tháp has been crafting support policies, particularly for small- and medium-sized enterprises.

The support covers manpower training, trade promotion, industrial extension programmes, and credit access, among others, which have yielded encouraging results.

In the first half of this year, the province witnessed remarkable changes with signs of a strong economic rebound across the board, with regional GDP growing 3.47 per cent.

Regarding agriculture, Đồng Tháp continues to maintain stable production with strong consumption. In the first half of 2022, the province’s agro-forestry-fishery production value reached an estimated US$934.5 million, up 4.74 per cent on-year and equal to 45.4 per cent of the full-year projection.

The local industrial production sector has also recovered, with its value so far in 2022 estimated at $1.56 billion, an increase of 6.98 per cent on-year and reaching 54 per cent of the plan.

Trade and service sectors have resumed almost completely. The province has also enhanced trade promotion activities, connecting supply and demand, and embracing market expansion.

As a result, its total retail sales of goods and services in the first six months amounted to $2.42 billion, a 7 per cent jump on-year to reach 53.5 per cent of the full-year plan.

The bright spot in the province’s economic outlook in the first six months of the year was the sharp growth in export value, which touched $785 million, soaring 48.4 per cent on-year.

Along with this, all key export industries eyed a sharp hike in their value, such as processed seafood, rice, shrimp crackers, and garments. Exports are expected to continue the growth momentum during the rest of 2022.

In the first six months of 2022, Đồng Tháp witnessed 390 newly established enterprises, up 28.3 per cent on-year, with total registered capital touching $130 million, up $20 million compared to the same period of 2021.

Thanks to the leadership’s concerted efforts, last year Đồng Tháp came third out of 63 cities and provinces in the 2021 Provincial Competitiveness Index rankings.

This marked 14 consecutive years Đồng Tháp has carved a spot in the top five, and eight consecutive years in the top 3 of the “best economic governance quality” criteria. — VNS