ĐÀ NẴNG — At the APEC Summit, the central city of Đà Nẵng has called for investment in nine projects in tourism and entertainment worth an estimated US$500 million. It says it wants the development done as Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) and Build-Own-Operate (BOO) models.

Deputy director of the city’s tourism department, Nguyễn Xuân Bình told Việt Nam News that the business forum was a big chance for the city’s tourism industry to show its power and potential for co-operation and investment.

He said a horse-racing project, planned on 500,000sq.m in Cẩm Lệ District, was the biggest project with a proposed investment capital of $200 million, while Ngũ Hành Sơn (Marble Mountains) Cultural and Historical Park has called for investment of $87 million.

Bình said the city also called for investment in the first underground shopping centre on Sơn Thuỷ Beach in coastal Ngũ Hành Sơn District with a proposed $40 million.

“We call for investment from foreign investors during our promotions in South Korea, Japan and Europe. The city will ensure favourable conditions for investors with flexible policies and positive support as well as administrative reform,” Bình said.

“The city also has an eye on calling local and foreign investment in a cruise port and piers, public parks, an international cuisine centre and a dog-race arena,” he said.

Bình said the projects would help turn the city into a centre of tourism, shopping and finance in central Việt Nam as well as a rendezvous of UNESCO-recognised world heritage features such as Huế Monument Complex, Hội An Town and Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary in Quảng Nam Province; and Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park and Sơn Đoòng Cave in Quảng Bình Province.

According to the Đà Nẵng Investment Promotion and Support Agency, Đà Nẵng has attracted 43 new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth $60 million in the first eight months this year, 4.6 times the amount for the same period last year.

The city now has 461 FDI projects worth more than $3.6 billion, mostly in tourism, services, property and industry.

Đà Nẵng encourages investors in high-tech industries and high-quality services in the form of public-private partnerships (PPP), as well as investment in waste treatment, infrastructure development, and solar and wind power.

Earlier this year, the city listed 68 PPP projects, 22 of them in the high-tech sector. From 2017-20, the city plans to attract investment worth $1.4 billion from domestic and foreign businesses. — VNS