Improved transport infrastructure in the Mekong Delta is a condition for this region to strongly attract investment capital. Quoc Tuan’s photo

Right time to invest

Previously, investors had to spend a lot of time moving from Ho Chi Minh City. From Ho Chi Minh to the West, now the way to the West is more open, crossing the river does not have to be a ferry. In Can Tho, there is also an international airport of level 4E standard, ready to connect with airports around the world.

During the Lunar New Year, the Ho Chi Minh City expressway. From Ho Chi Minh City to the western provinces, traffic has been opened to My Thuan bridge and after 1-2 years when this highway will reach Can Tho, then the travel between these two big cities is no longer a "bottleneck". ” that has been covered by the media for more than a decade. Traffic is gradually invested in smooth inter-regional connectivity and connecting the region with provinces and cities across the country will be a "prerequisite" to attract investment into the Mekong Delta.

Mr. Noboru Kondo - President of Brain Works Corporation (Japan) shared, although his group has invested in Vietnam for a long time, he has only known Can Tho for about 5 years now through a friend from his hometown. West.

"For Japanese investors, a few years ago, almost no one knew about the provinces in the Mekong Delta, usually they just went around Ho Chi Minh City, the eastern provinces, further to Long An province, The reason is that the information about the Mekong Delta is too little, the roads are difficult to travel, so very few foreign businesses want to invest in this area. However, now the situation has changed, the transport infrastructure of the region is gradually improving, this is the best time to invest in this area," said Mr. Noboru Kondo.

In addition to the upgraded and expanded transport infrastructure, localities in the Mekong Delta have also planned and invited to invest in infrastructure of dozens of large-scale industrial parks (IZs) for investors to rent to build factories. export. Typically, Hau Giang province has planned dozens of industrial zones with an area of ​​up to thousands of hectares. City. Can Tho is calling for investment in infrastructure of 2 industrial zones with an area of ​​up to 1,400ha, Vinh Long province is investing in infrastructure of Dong Binh Industrial Park with a scale of 400ha...

According to the plan of the Ministry of Transport approved by the Prime Minister, in the period from now to 2030, the Mekong Delta region will be invested hundreds of thousands of billion VND to build important traffic projects such as Chau Doc Expressway. - Can Tho - Soc Trang, Can Tho - Ca Mau expressway, Can Tho 2 bridge, Center for agricultural product processing, logistics... This is a prerequisite for this region to strongly "attract" investment capital, especially capital. FDI.

Breakthrough from energy projects

According to the Foreign Investment Agency - Ministry of Planning and Investment, in 2021, the whole Mekong Delta region has attracted 252 new investment FDI projects, increased capital, contributed capital to buy shares with a total registered capital of more than 5.642 billion USD. Accumulated by the end of 2021, the Mekong Delta region has 1,839 valid FDI projects with a total registered capital of over 30 billion USD, accounting for about 7.5% of the total registered FDI capital nationwide.

In 2021, the Mekong Delta region has 2 localities in the top 5 leading FDI attracting localities in the country. Notably, the projects that contribute to bringing these two localities to the top of attracting FDI are energy projects.

Specifically, it is the Long An LNG Power Plant Project I and II (Singapore), with a total registered capital of over $3.1 billion with the goal of electricity transmission and distribution, and electricity production in Long An; O Mon II Thermal Power Plant Project (Japan), with a total registered capital of over 1.31 billion USD with the goal of building a thermal power plant to meet the electricity supply demand for the regional power grid and system. national electricity in Can Tho.

The first new feature in attracting FDI in the Mekong Delta in 2021 is the wave of FDI spillover from Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh started "landing" in the western provinces and cities such as Can Tho, Hau Giang, Dong Thap, Vinh Long, Ca Mau...

The second new feature in attracting FDI in the Mekong Delta region is that if before, investment projects often focused on the processing industry, now capital is flowing strongly into the energy sector.

According to Mr. Nguyen Phuong Lam, Director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Can Tho Branch, there are 8 reasons that investors should invest in the Mekong Delta. It is a favorable business and investment environment, has a rich material area, has an abundant and low-cost labor force, a very attractive local consumption market, and the clean land for investors is still very large. Low rental cost, room for many new investment fields such as: hi-tech agriculture, ICT, logistics, wind power, solar power, tourism real estate, and high-tech engineering projects to cope with climate change.

With abundant and diverse potential and factors of converging natural, geographical, and human resources, the Mekong Delta is a "good land" ready to welcome investors in 2022 and the following years.