Phu Yen lures mega investments with multi-sector advantages, preferential policies

The south-central province of Phu Yen has been able to attract mega investments from foreign and domestic businesses by presenting its multi-sector advantages and offering preferential policies.

Local authorities say Phu Yen is one of the few provinces in Vietnam with great potential in many sectors including tourism, services, renewable energy, high-tech agriculture, and high-tech industry.

Adding to this attraction are several infrastructure upgrades like the Deo Ca tunnel linking the province with the south-central province of Khanh Hoa, the Cu Mong tunnel connecting with Binh Dinh, another south-central province, and the upgrade of Tuy Hoa airport.

Vietnamese conglomerate and the nation’s largest steel producer Hoa Phat has proposed four major projects worth VND120 trillion ($5.13 billion) in the South Phu Yen Economic Zone: Hoa Tam Industrial Park (IP), Bai Goc Port, Hoa Phat Steel Complex, and a commercial and service site.

The company has said that they target implementing the project within 36 months of receiving in-principle approval and land. The steel complex is expected to employ about 12,000 people, 80-90% of them from the province.

Malaysia’s PETMAL Oil Holdings is seeking to invest in a 500-hectare oil refinery in the province’s Nam Phu Yen Economic Zone. The $5 billion project will have a capacity of eight million tons of crude oil per year. It will cover 500 hectares of land and 500 hectares of water surface, and create about 1,200 direct jobs and 5,000 indirect ones.

PETMAL Oil has surveyed the Hoa Tam Industrial Park and Bai Goc Port for the project, said Nguyen Xuan Hung, management head of the South Phu Yen Economic Zone.

The province has also received investment facilitation requests from two German businesses – wind and solar power developer Wpd and medicines and healthcare provider STADA Pymepharco.

More support, more investments

Phu Yen authorities acknowledge that they have not provided the expected support for businesses and pledge to correct this while calling for more investments.

Phu Yen Vice Chairman Le Tan Ho said the province registered 288 new firms in the first half of this year with a total registered capital of VND4 trillion ($168.4 million), up 53.5% year-on-year.

The 3,600 operational companies in the province with a total registered capital of VND79 trillion ($3.33 billion) earned revenues of VND16 trillion ($673.54 million) in the first half of this year, employed 70,000 people and contributed VND1.2 trillion ($50.5 million) to the state budget, he said.

Provincial authorities have cooperated with investors on projects in Hoa Tam Industrial Park, and Bai Goc Port; and are calling for investments from Japanese businesses, Ho added.

However, the number of businesses in Phu Yen as well as their scale and competitiveness are not as strong as those of other province.

Ho also admitted that the province's support for businesses has not yet matched demand.

Hung, management head of the South Phu Yen Economic Zone, said that the draft development plan of Nam Phu Yen Economic Zone until 2040 features three urban areas. As soon as it is approved, the zone will call for investments, he added.