Quảng Ngãi urged to improve competitiveness Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc urged Quảng Ngãi Province to continue to improve its competitiveness, as he addressed an investment promotion conference in the province yesterday. -VNA/VNS Photo QUẢNG NGÃI - Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc urged Quảng Ngãi Province to continue to improve its competitiveness, as he addressed an investment promotion conference in the province yesterday. Quảng Ngãi has succeeded in developing economic and industrial zones, and comprehensive policies to attract investment have helped the province become a strong economic hub of Việt Nam’s central region, the conference was told. Quảng Ngãi People’s Committee Chairman Trần Ngọc Căng said the province offers investors minimum land rents, which are equivalent to 0.5 per cent of the land prices in a framework stipulated by the Government. The province assists investors with 20 per cent of site clearance costs for stimulated projects. It also assists them with 50-90 per cent of infrastructure investments for projects involved in education, healthcare and culture, as well as sport and environment. It enables investors to deal with administrative procedures following a one-stop shop mechanism, besides giving them support related to trade, promotion and labour training. The province especially carries out preferential policies and investment incentives to lure investments into the Dung Quất Economic Zone, Việt Nam – Singapore Industrial Park. It has adjusted a master plan for the development of the Dung Quất Economic Zone until 2025, increasing its area from 10,300 hectare (ha) to around 45,300 ha. It is accelerating construction of ports and industrial parks in the zone, and urban development in Vạn Tường, Dốc Sỏi and Sa Kỳ districts. The Dung Quất Oil Refinery, a main force driving local economic growth, will be a premise for development of a national refinery and petrochemistry centre in this area in the future, in accordance with national strategies. Quảng Ngãi should now consider enterprises a motive power for development, and build a government that is stimulative, active and incorruptible to businesses. The government at various levels must follow this spirit, Phúc said. The PM asked local authorities to build a transparent and fair legal framework, hold more dialogues with businesses to help them solve problems, and encourage co-operation between domestic and foreign companies so that their operations benefit the people. He urged the province to foster investments in tourism and services to enhance local living standards, and pay more attention to nursing local human resources for the cause of socio-economic development. As any investment is carried out, the environment must be preserved, he said. Yesterday, provincial authorities reportedly granted investment registration certificates for five projects, including an urban development project of Hoàng Thịnh Đạt JSC and an asphalt production project of South Korea’s Pields Engineering. They also certified a steam facility manufacturing project of GE Việt Nam, a leatherware making project of South Sea Leatherwares Việt Nam, and a fibre and cloth processing project of Freetex Elastic Fabric Factory. The authorities also approved investments in principle for four projects, including a shipbuilding, logistics and fishery of Company 19-5, and an electric wire production project of Glitter & Cable Company Limited. The other two included a rural housing project of construction firm 108 Trường Thành, and a waste treatment project of Miền Bắc (North) Investment & Development JSC. These nine projects have a total registered investment capital of more than VNĐ5 trillion (US$222.2 million), according to the Tuổi trẻ (Youth) newspaper. Quảng Ngãi is situated in the key central economic region, covering an area of more than 5,000 sq.km with about 1.3 million residents. - VNS