Major agri-center to open in Mekong Delta next year

Can Tho city expects to open in 2023 a 3,300-hectare logistics center for linkage, production and distribution of agricultural products in Mekong Delta, Vietnam’s rice bowl.

Mekong Delta comprises Can Tho as its hub and the provinces of An Giang, Dong Thap, Long An, Tien Giang, Vinh Long, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Hau Giang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau and Kien Giang. It is one of the largest and most fertile deltas in Southeast Asia, and Vietnam’s biggest food, fisheries and fruit production region.

The center is a core initiative for regional development by 2030, Tran Viet Truong, Chairman of the Can Tho People’s Committee, told a workshop held on Thursday to collect recommendations for the project.

The planned complex is one of Can Tho’s eight programs and projects entitled to a special mechanism that the National Assembly granted to the city early this year.

By 2050, the center is envisaged as a hub for smart production, processing and distribution chains in the whole region with about 50% to 70% of production being smartly automated.

Businesses with investment projects at the complex will enjoy customs and tax incentives, Truong said. "Projects will be exempted from corporate income tax for four years and pay half in the next nine years. A corporate income tax rate of 10% will last 15 years."

They will also be exempted from land rent in the construction period for a maximum three years from the time of land lease. Later, land rent will be zero for 15 years and cut by 50% for the next seven, he added.

The project will be located along National Highway 91B, next to a 10,670-hectare site zoned as an economic area and service and logistics center for aviation and high-tech investments.

Can Tho’s administration expects the 2023 opening will be followed with further investments into the complex from businesses in 2024. Meanwhile, 2025 will see a focus on intensified manufacturing, trade promotion, exports, market expansions, and application of new technologies.

For the following years, with a vision to 2050, more business incentives are expected.