Việt Nam eyes to unlock border gate economic growth

Việt Nam eyes to unlock border gate economic growth

The development of the Mộc Bài Border Gate Economic Zone in southern Tây Ninh Province and the planned cross-border economic cooperation zone at Lào Cai International Border Gate aims to promote socioeconomic development, cross-border trade and new space for economic growth.

TMTC Industrial Park in the Mộc Bài Border Gate Economic Zone, Tây Ninh. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Phú

Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Gia Túc has urged the development of mechanisms and policies to be accelerated to promote economic acitivities at the Mộc Bài Border Gate Economic Zone in southern Tây Ninh Province and the planned cross-border economic cooperation zone at Lào Cai International Border Gate.

At a meeting on Monday, Deputy PM Túc said the two border areas, which lie along Việt Nam’s frontiers with Cambodia and China, respectively, have significant potential to expand trade, investment and economic cooperation with neighboring countries.

Lào Cai serves as a gateway linking with China's Yunnan province, while Tây Ninh has opportunities to strengthen trade with Cambodia, he said.

He called for appropriate policies, including special measures on taxation, customs and transport, to facilitate trade and business operations. He also stressed the need to improve transport infrastructure, housing and services to attract investment and support development around the border gates.

Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyễn Thị Bích Ngọc said the development of both zones aims to promote socioeconomic development, cross-border trade and new space for economic growth.

However, the ministry said efforts should focus on identifying and resolving existing bottlenecks rather than creating numerous separate policy mechanisms. Special measures should be considered only where existing laws lack effective tools, with proposals clearly identifying the problems, scope, resources and expected impact, Ngọc said.

For Mộc Bài, the Finance Ministry identified three main bottlenecks, including incomplete infrastructure and connectivity, a lack of sufficiently large projects capable of driving value chains, and limited customs, logistics and connectivity with Cambodia's Bavet border gates.

TMTC Industrial Park in the Mộc Bài Border Gate Economic Zone, Tây Ninh. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Phú

For the proposed Lào Cai cross-border economic cooperation zone, Ngọc said it is necessary to clarify the pilot's scope and the conditions required for cooperation with China.

Trương Thanh Liêm, deputy chairman of the Tây Ninh People's Committee, for Mộc Bài, the province has identified priorities on improving transport connectivity, logistics and customs clearance and attraction of large-scale investment projects.

The province is working to connect the HCM-Mộc Bài Expressway with the border gate while developing logistics, digital border-gate systems and smart border gates to shorten clearance times and facilitate goods movement.

Tây Ninh proposed ministries and agencies to guide research into establishing a free trade zone within the existing planned functional areas of the economic zone.

Chairman of Lào Cai People’s Committee Nguyễn Tuấn Anh said the development of a cross-border economic cooperation zone at Lào Cai International Border Gate has been under preparation for several years.

Lào Cai and China's Yunnan province have reached a common understanding on promoting the zone, while Chinese businesses have recently explored investment opportunities in industrial parks and logistics facilities in Lào Cai.

He urged the proposal to be completed early as base for Việt Nam to engage with Yunnan on logistics development, investment attraction and improved connectivity with southwestern China.

Concluding the meeting, Deputy PM Túc said that policies already provided for by law, or expected to be covered by forthcoming laws and decrees, should not be proposed as separate mechanisms.

He said border-gate economic development was important to building peaceful, friendly and cooperative borders, but economic development must go hand in hand with national defense and security, border management and environmental protection.

The Mộc Bài Border Gate Economic Zone was established in 1998 along the Việt Nam-Cambodia border. It is intended to become a major trading hub linking the southeastern region of Việt Nam with Cambodia and the wider ASEAN region.

The zone currently has 59 valid investment projects, including 25 foreign-invested projects with combined registered capital of more than US$488 million and 34 domestic projects with registered capital exceeding VNĐ8.5 trillion ($322 million).

The Lào Cai Border Gate Economic Zone, also established in 1998 and located along the Kunming-Lào Cai-Hà Nội-Hải Phòng-Quảng Ninh economic corridor, serves as a gateway connecting Việt Nam and ASEAN countries with southwestern China. 

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