A shopping centre in downtown Đà Nẵng. The Import-Export Pan Pacific Group (IPPG) has asked the central city to allocate land for the development of the first international standard downtown duty-free zone and factory outlet centre. VNS Photo Công Thành

ĐÀ NẴNG — The Import-Export Pan Pacific Group (IPPG) has asked the central city’s People’s Committee to allocate land for the development of the first international standard downtown duty-free zone and factory outlet centre.

General director of the IPPG Lê Hồng Thủy Tiên made the request early this week, stating that the company had failed to negotiate land to build Golden Hills for Trung Nam Group last month.

She said the group planned to build the project on 7.7ha in the urban centre with an investment of VNĐ10 trillion (US$434 million) but it could not seal a deal with Trung Nam Group for land due to booming property prices.

Vice director of the city’s Investment Promotion Agency Huỳnh Thị Liên Phương told Việt Nam News the city had been seeking an appropriate area for the investor to commence the project.

Phương said Đà Nẵng International Airport and Tiên Sa Seaport – two possible locations for developing a duty-free zone – were full so the city would have to find an alternative.

At the Spring Dialogue in March, chairman of the group, Jonathan Hạnh Nguyễn, urged the city to build a third terminal to ease congestion, and design an international standard duty-free zone and recreational area to funnel tourism towards Hội An, Huế and Đà Nẵng.

He said his company operated a new terminal at Cam Ranh Airport in Khánh Hòa Province, and Đà Nẵng would be a new location for building a luxury shopping centre.

According to the city’s trade and industry department, Đà Nẵng’s retail and service industry earned revenue of VNĐ53.2 trillion (US$2.3 billion) – 15.3 per cent year-on-year growth – in 2018.

The city granted investment licences to eight projects worth $490 million and 11 other feasibility studies projects with an estimate of $3.5 billion at an investment promotion conference in March. — VNS