HCM CITY — Lâm Đồng Province would like to attract investment in green energy and technology, a conference on investment promotion held by the Central Highlands province in HCM City on Thursday heard.

Nguyễn Văn Yên, deputy chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said: “This is a good chance for provincial enterprises to meet, share information, introduce their strengths and the investment incentives offered by Lâm Đồng to international and local investors.

“We would like to seek business partners to promote sales of our speciality products throughout the nation and even export.”

Lâm Đồng, which has an area of 9,800sq.km and a population of 1.3 million, is strong in tourism, agriculture and forestry, and agricultural and forestry processing.

Its capital Đà Lạt is a national and regional resort town and tourism centre with balmy weather and many ancient villas and buildings. The city has 16,740 hotel rooms and received 5.4 million visitors last year, including 270,000 foreigners.

The province’s tourism sector plans to develop a range of activities like eco-tourism, rest and recreation, sightseeing, amusement and entertainment, culture and sports, education, and agro-tourism.

The province has great potential in agriculture.

It has nearly 60,000ha under vegetables that yield 2.1 million tonnes a year, or 40 per cent of the national output; 8,400ha under flowers that produce nearly 30 million cut flowers, or 45 per cent of the national output; 21,000ha under tea; and over 150,000ha under coffee that produce an output of over 430,000 tonnes.

The province’s industrial sector is dominated by mining, manufacture of fertilisers, electricity generation and distribution, and gas production.

Last year its economy grew at 7.93 per cent and this year the figure is expected to edge up to 8.2 per cent.

Domestic investors have invested a cumulative VNĐ108 trillion (US$4.8 billion) in 756 projects while foreign investors have 101 projects worth $477 million.

“Poor infrastructure, low value addition, limited investment and failure to achieve its tourism potential are the province’s weaknesses,” Yên said.

Trần Ngọc Liêm, deputy director of the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s HCM City office, said: “In recent years the number of enterprises in Lâm Đồng has significantly increased.

“Last year the figure was up 16 per cent and in the first seven months of this year the figure rose by 25 per cent, far higher than the target of 15 per cent.

“With this growth, the province will have over 9,000 enterprises by 2020.”

In tourism, the province said it would like to promote its advantages of climate and landscapes, with priority given to the development of high-quality eco-tourism, conference tourism, agricultural tourism, developing special products and brands, and developing Đà Lạt into a superior eco-tourism centre.

To foster trade, Lâm Đồng wants to develop its agricultural and agro-forestry products and brands, strengthen trade promotion and expand its domestic and international markets.

In agriculture, it would like to develop agro-forestry based on high technology, bio-technology for preservation, and post-harvest processing.

It prioritises the development of processing of products like tea, coffee, mulberry, and dairy and the classification and preservation of vegetables and flowers.

To strengthen its transport infrastructure, Lâm Đồng wants to build the Dầu Giây–Liên Khương Expressway, restore the 84km Đà Lạt–Tháp Chàm rail route and begin international air services to Singapore and Siem Reap. — VNS