Đà Nẵng sets free to soar as trade zone takes flight

Đà Nẵng sets free to soar as trade zone takes flight

The beach city should be the first typical ‘sample’ of a dynamic economic mechanism for the whole country’s drastic growth in the ‘rising era’ next decades on the base of successful development of the Free Trade Zone and International Finance Centre.

A beach zone area in Đà Nẵng Bay. The city has been speeding up construction of key infrastructure  items in forming the Đà Nẵng Free Trade Zone. — Photo courtesy of Quang Huy

The beach city of Đà Nẵng is poised to become the nation’s prime example of a dynamic economic mechanism driving rapid growth in the coming decades, based on the successful development of its Free Trade Zone (FTZ) and International Finance Centre.

More than 200 investors and businesses from across the country recently gathered at the FTZ Investment Promotion event to discuss ideas and strategies aimed at making the Đà Nẵng FTZ a benchmark for a fully reformed institutional framework, preferential policies, and special mechanisms to expand the country’s economic zones.

Đà Nẵng was appointed as the first city in Việt Nam to pilot the FTZ development plan. Since the Prime Minister’s decision in June to establish the 1,881-hectare Đà Nẵng FTZ, the topic has attracted significant attention from both domestic and international investors. Seven key functional sites for manufacturing, logistics, trade and services have been allocated within the zone.

A beach zone area in Đà Nẵng Bay. The city has been speeding up construction of key infrastructure  items in forming the Đà Nẵng Free Trade Zone. — Photo courtesy of Quang Huy

Businesses and economic experts expect that the FTZ will boost the city to become one of the country’s key economic powers, with the first-ever special mechanism assigned to a ‘smart’ and ‘green’ centre for key high-tech industries, including semiconductors, AI, big data, cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, and serve as a global investment destination.

Lê Minh Nguyệt, from the National Architecture Institute, said the city’s FTZ should focus on the development of ‘green’ and ‘smart’ buildings that meet international standards in terms of energy saving and environmentally friendly materials.

“The new Đà Nẵng City has greater potential for long-term prosperous development following its merger with Quảng Nam Province. It needs to establish a vision for infrastructure projects to accommodate expansion over the next 30 to 50 years,” Nguyệt said.

“The Đà Nẵng FTZ should not be a replica of developed models such as the Dubai International Centre, Shenzhen Free Trade Zone or Singapore FTZs, but rather offer flexible options suited to its current advantages and conditions.”

Alphanam Group chairman Nguyễn Tuấn Hải said it was time for Đà Nẵng to launch the FTZ, as the city had accumulated all the necessary conditions to serve as a first model of rapid and sustainable economic growth.

A beach zone area in Đà Nẵng Bay. The city has been speeding up construction of key infrastructure  items in forming the Đà Nẵng Free Trade Zone. — Photo courtesy of Quang Huy

He said Alphanam Group, which had invested in the city since 1995, officially launched a series of five-star resorts and hotels among 50 property projects nationwide, with a total investment of US$8 billion.

Mai Công Hồ, General Director of the Sài Gòn-Đà Nẵng joint-stock company, an industrial park infrastructure developer, suggested that the city should accelerate administrative procedures so that they are 10 times faster than usual in order to establish itself as an attractive foreign direct investment destination with regional and global status.

Hồ emphasised that building ‘trust’ and reforming institutions would be key factors in making the Đà Nẵng FTZ a truly magnetic investment hub for global business groups.

“We have been investing in the city for 20 years, during which three industrial parks have been built. Our company will begin a larger project after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the city to implement the second functional site – a complex of logistics, manufacturing, and supportive industries – in the FTZ,” Hồ shared.

Chairman of Shinec joint-stock company Phạm Hồng Điệp said Đà Nẵng should offer attractive preferential policies with the most favourable conditions and competitive advantages in the Southeast Asia region to draw leading investors to the FTZ.

A beach zone area in Đà Nẵng Bay. The city has been speeding up construction of key infrastructure  items in forming the Đà Nẵng Free Trade Zone. — Photo courtesy of Quang Huy

He said Đà Nẵng FTZ needed to co-operate with other FTZs in Singapore and Korea to establish a lucrative investment destination and market — where major global banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, and venture capital firms set up offices for operations.

Vũ Quang Hùng, Head of Đà Nẵng’s Special Economic Zone Authority (which includes the Hi-Tech Park and Industrial Zones Authority, IT Park, six other industrial parks, four centralised information technology zones, and the Free Trade Zone), said the city would provide full support in removing barriers for investors and businesses.

The Đà Nẵng FTZ is expected to contribute 17.9 per cent to Đà Nẵng City’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) and create 127,000 jobs by 2040.

Đà Nẵng City has signed its first agreements with major domestic and international investors, including Terne Holdings Group, One Destination, BRG Group, Imex Pan Pacific, Newtechco Group and Sài Gòn-Đà Nẵng Investment JSC, to commence infrastructure works on the FTZ. 

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