Economic experts share exchanges on a dialogue on the development of Đà Nẵng in the next decades. The city has been designed as a national and regional centre of innovation and economic power of Việt Nam. VNS Photo Công Thành

ĐÀ NẴNG – The central city of Đà Nẵng has been seeking an economic breakthrough solution to turn itself into one of the most livable urban environments in Việt Nam. 

Economist Nguyễn Đình Cung, former director of the Central Institute for Economic Management, spoke at a high-level dialogue on the development of Đà Nẵng as part of the Đà Nẵng Business, Finance and Technology Week.

Đà Nẵng Port system will play a key role in boosting the development of the city going forward. The city has invested well in infrastructure to attract investment and tourism. Photo courtesy of Đà Nẵng Port Company

Cung said Đà Nẵng was seen as one of the most successful and dynamic cities in Việt Nam due to investment in infrastructure and tourism over the past decades, but seek new innovations and technologies that are booming all over the world.

“Đà Nẵng had succeeded in using resources from outside to develop infrastructure and investment in the past two decades. It was listed as one of top five leading cities in the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) for many consecutive years, but that momentum did not continue between 2018-25,” Cung said.

The economist suggested that Đà Nẵng needs to build trust among investors through successful implementations of the International Finance Centre (IFC) and Free Trade Zone – two key elements of institutional reform.

An aerospace component manufacturing factory opens at the Đà Nẵng City Hi-tech Park. The city has been focused on attracting high-tech industries, semiconductors & AI, and digital industries. VNS Photo Công Thành

“It should build a new mechanism to serve sustainable growth that is based on high capability, high quality manpower, digital and ‘green’ transition, digital economy, and semiconductor & AI industries,” he added.

Dr Võ Trí Thành, former vice-president of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) and a member of the National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council, said Việt Nam has been seeking new institutions for fast and sustainable growth in the emerging era.

He said Đà Nẵng will serve as a sandbox of pilot policies and new economic laws in the country in the next decades.

He said Việt Nam will host the CEO Summit on Leadership Management-Governance-Institution to build reform institutions and mechanisms for the country’s breakthrough growth.

A booth displaying made-in-Đà Nẵng printed circuit boards at the Đà Nẵng Business, Finance and Technology Week. VNS Photo Công Thành

Dr Eduard Muller, former finance minister of Austria, shared that for institutional capacity, law is an important element and the written law is the foundation of everything.

“Law is the first pillar, and we need an administration that is able to implement it.”

Dr Urs Lustengerger, President of SwissCham Asia, said: "Việt Nam has very good laws. I do think that Việt Nam has the capacity to go through whatever it wants to go through.

"But what I'm not always sure of is that Việt Nam has the political will and the will of the best talents to go through whatever the design in our world needs. And I think that is one of the most important issues to resolve.”

“We have to identify what are the best interests of the talents we have in the country. We have to look at the interactions of the different regions and Việt Nam, and we have to see if this competition helps the national growth.”

Đà Nẵng adopted Politburo's Resolution No 57-NQ/TW in late 2024, identifying science and technology, innovation and digital transformation as strategic drivers of the country's next phase of economic development.

The resolution would help the city develop stronger investment in research and building digital infrastructure and greater support for high-tech industries and innovation ecosystems to improve national competitiveness. VNS