Dong Nai plans 'green' free trade zone linked with Long Thanh airport

Authorities of Dong Nai are working on a master plan for a free trade zone (FTZ) that will make use of the upcoming Long Thanh International Airport, together with seaports, expressways, high-speed railways, and industrial parks across the southern province.

The proposed Dong Nai FTZ will cover more than 8,200 hectares across seven sites connected with Long Thanh International Airport and Phuoc An Port. It will consist of four functional zones, namely a high-tech industrial production area, a logistics hub, a financial and commercial services center, and an innovation cluster.

Dong Nai plans to introduce eight policy groups and 29 special mechanisms to attract investment and position the FTZ as a regional hub for high-tech industries, logistics, financial services, innovation, and international trade.

Dr. Truong Minh Huy Vu, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies, suggested that Dong Nai should develop a green, digital, and smart FTZ model linked with institutional reform and regional coordination.

He argued that Dong Nai, with its important role in the southern key economic region, could become the nucleus of a broader Southeastern Free Trade Zone (SEFZ) complex that is currently under study and may become Vietnam’s first integrated economic zone model.

The SEFZ will form a multi-polar growth space linking the Long Thanh logistics-industrial-airport free zone, the Cai Mep-Thi Vai free port, and an international financial and trade center in Can Gio of Ho Chi Minh City.

Similar models in Dubai, Shanghai and Incheon have successfully attracted FDI, boosted high-tech production and logistics, and delivered double-digit GDP growth for their regions, Vu noted.

With direct connectivity between Long Thanh Airport, Cai Mep-Thi Vai seaport, the Phuoc An port system, and existing industrial parks, Dong Nai is well placed to become a strategic logistics and export production hub for the southeastern region.

To operate effectively, Vu recommended piloting a paperless and single-window electronic management system, along with clear decentralization in planning, investment licensing, and SEFZ management. He also proposed establishing a regional development coordination board for the Southeast to ensure cross-provincial planning, budget allocation, and investment coordination.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Kim Chung, scientific secretary of the Central Theory Council, emphaszsed that service industries are already a strength of Dong Nai. With the addition of Long Thanh Airport and its associated services, especially the FTZ, the province will have two growth engines, anchored in the Long Thanh airport service urban area.

He stressed that the airport, the largest in Southeast Asia once completed, will itself encourage major investment flows and spur infrastructure connectivity to socio-economic centers. The formation of an urban center of intergated services serving Long Thanh Airport will help Dong Nai “take off”.

Experts agreed that to fully leverage growth momentum generated by aviation, logistics, trade, and urban development, Dong Nai needs breakthrough policies and mechanisms to attract strategic investors, particularly those in high technology.

Ho Van Ha, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the FTZ will have an estimated investment of $16 billion. Public capital will account for about 5%, while domestic private investment will contribute 40% and foreign direct investment 55%.