Vietnam plans high-growth economic zone in Mekong Delta along border with Cambodia

Monday, 05 December 2011
Posted by Serath

PHNOM PENH, Dec 5 (Cambodia Herald) - Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (pictured) has decided to establish a key economic zone in the Mekong Delta that is targeted to account for 40 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020, the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported Monday.

The report said the new zone would comprise Can Tho City and An Giang, Kien Giang and Ca Mau provinces. An Giang shares a border with Kandal and Takeo provinces in Cambodia while Kien Giang borders Kamput and Kep provinces. The zone is targeted to grow 25 percent faster than national GDP over the next 10 years, the report said.

VNA said the zone would focus on industry and services and rely less on agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Industrial and construction activities are targeted to rise from 29 percent of economic output in 2010 to 40 percent in 2020 while the services sector is expected to increase from 42 percent to 45 percent in the same period. The agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector is targeted to decline from 29 percent to 15 percent.

At the same time, the ratio of trained workers is targeted to rise from 38 percent of the labor force in 2010 to 65 percent in 2020 with income rising from $1,200 per capita to a targeted $3,000, the report said.

VNA said the zone would focus on developing three thermal power plants with a capacity of up to 9,400 megawatts, fueled by gas from fields off the southwest coast. It said the government was also putting priority on developing transport infrastructure in the zone including Phu Quoc island, which borders the Cambodian province of Kep.