VietNamNet Bridge – Quang Ninh has still been cherishing an ambitious plan to develop two special economic zones in the locality, despite the dissuasion from experts and officials.

Ministries have expressed their anxiety about the legality and the feasibility of the plan by the Quang Ninh provincial authorities to develop two special economic zones of Mong Cai and Van Don. Meanwhile, the province still insists on the necessity of the economic zones, believing that Mong Cai and Van Don have all necessary conditions to serve as the springboard for the local economy development.

The Van Don Island district would be developed into a special administrative and economic unit, a city of the key economic branches such as sea tourism, ecotourism, high end entertainment, shopping malls, and finance centers. Especially, Van Don would always serve as a gateway for international trade.

Quang Ninh province hopes the annual GDP growth rate in Van Don district would be 21.9 percent per annum on average in the years from now to 2020. Meanwhile, the GDP per capita is expected to reach 3600 dollars by 2015 and 9000 dollars by 2020.

Meanwhile, Mong Cai would be developed into a modern international border gate city, which serves as the center of the coastal economic belt development. This would be a bustling cross-border trade area, the gateway for ASEAN-China goods exchange.

Mong Cai is expected to obtain the average GDP growth rate of 14.8 percent from now to 2020, and the GDP per capita of 7000 dollars by 2015 and 14,000 dollars by 2020.

If Mong Cai and Van Don turn into special economic zones, they would follow a special operation mechanism. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), the suggested special mechanism for the zones contains the preferences which go beyond the ones stipulated in the current laws.

However, MOIT thinks that specific policies should still be applied to the two economic zones, because they are necessary to help attract foreign and domestic capital and human resources.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment agrees that a specific mechanism is needed to encourage investment, but says Quang Ninh should still thinks about what it should do to attract investment in the current big difficulties.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has rejected the proposal by the Quang Ninh provincial authorities to detain 100 percent of the money to be collected from the corporate income tax, VAT, environment protection tax and coal export tax, so that the province can handle the environmental problems caused by the coal exploitation.

The ministry has cited the current laws which say that 100 percent of the tax to be collected from coal exports would go to the central budget.

However, the ministry agrees to the proposal by Quang Ninh province that the local authorities can use 100 percent of the money to be collected from sightseeing tickets for the conservation and development of Ha Long Bay.

It has also agreed that Quang Ninh needs to borrow capital from domestic finance institutions to build an infrastructure system by mortgaging coal or land.

The National Assembly’s Economics Committee has officially asked the provincial authorities to consider the financial resources for the ambitious plan.

Quang Ninh plans to mobilize the huge sum of investment capital of up to 52 billion dollars from now to 2020, including 45 percent of capital from domestic sources and 55 percent from foreign sources. Of this amount, 10 billion dollars would be allocated for Van Don and Mong Cai.

The economics committee has asked to clarify how Quang Ninh can arrange such a huge capital in the context of the global economic crisis and domestic economic downturn.

Compiled by Kim Chi