Together with Japanese investors, awakening Gia Lai's potential

Japan is an important area where Gia Lai wants to promote cooperation and attract investment to realize the goal of becoming a dynamic economic region of the Central Highlands.

A delegation of Gia Lai province led by Mr. Rah Lan Chung, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, went to Japan to promote trade and investment from August 20-25, 2023.

Gateway to the region

At the Gia Lai Investment Promotion Conference 2022, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assessed that Gia Lai has many potentials, advantages and favorable conditions.

Gia Lai is a province with rich tourism resources with majestic mountains and forests, majestic waterfalls, and many natural and artificial landscapes. This is also a locality with great potential to develop into a large raw material area for the processing industry of products such as: vegetables, rubber, coffee, tea, sugar cane, medicinal herbs, aquaculture, etc. The development of the processing industry and tourism is also a condition to promote the development of logistics infrastructure and trade, import and export.

Not only that, with the most abundant sunshine and wind resources in the Central Highlands, the province has great potential to develop renewable energy sources. Gia Lai has been approved by competent authorities to plan 88 renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 4,347.89 MW.

In addition, Gia Lai has a total water reserve of about 23 billion m3, which can develop hydropower projects with a capacity of about 3,000 MW. Regarding solar power potential, the province has an average of 1,900-2,200 hours of sunshine per year, which can be developed to a capacity of about 7,500 MW.

With its position as the gateway to the region, Gia Lai province has not only become a hub for trade, transit of goods and commercial services in the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam development triangle, but also an important traffic hub connecting the Central Highlands with the provinces of the Central and Southeast regions.

Pleiku Airport with daily flights to Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hanoi, Hai Phong, Nghe An... along with National Highways 14, 19, 25, Ho Chi Minh Road, Dong Truong Son Road have created favorable conditions for travel, connecting Gia Lai with the coastal provinces of the Central region, the Central Highlands, the Southeast and many domestic and international localities.

Strengthening cooperation with Japan

The above potentials have helped Gia Lai become a destination for many strategic investors, including Japan. The Land of the Rising Sun has always been one of the important countries with which Gia Lai wants to promote cooperation.

Regarding investment attraction , currently, there are 2 projects of Japanese enterprises researching and implementing investment projects in Gia Lai province. They are Arakawa Chemical Industry Joint Stock Company and Meiwa Trading Joint Stock Company with the project of a pine resin exploitation and processing factory. Cellutane Vietnam Company invests in a project of a garment and wood processing factory.

Regarding official development assistance ( ODA ), Japan and Gia Lai province have had a cooperative relationship since 1996, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which has funded Gia Lai province to implement 29 infrastructure improvement projects such as: Road 664 and Hoang Van Thu, Nguyen Trai - Nguyen Thai Hoc Road, Chu A Thai - Ya Yeng - Ya Pa Road, Ben Mong Bridge, Ia Kha town water supply, Chu Pah water supply, Krong Pa town water supply system project, EaUr irrigation, Duc Co electricity project, Dakhlo electricity, Ba river bridge project... with a total capital of about 13,183,650 USD.

The project "Enhancing capacity for participatory agricultural and rural development for poverty reduction" in the Central Highlands of Vietnam with a total investment of 3.5 million USD, was implemented over a period of 5 years (2010 - 2014).

Or the project "Improving the capacity to develop community tourism associated with conservation and development of OCOP products" in the period of 2023 - 2026 with a total non-refundable ODA capital provided by the Japanese Government of 500,000,000 Japanese Yen, implemented in 10 provinces and cities, including Gia Lai.

Regarding trade , up to now, there are 6 enterprises in the province exporting goods to Japan: Louis Dreyfus Company Vietnam Trading and Processing Co., Ltd., Anh Khoa Gia Lai Minerals Joint Stock Company, Hong Granite Production Company, Sesan Furniture Co., Ltd., Vinh Hiep Co., Ltd., Hoa Trang Gia Lai Import-Export Co., Ltd.

In addition, the locality also pays great attention to trade and investment promotion activities between Gia Lai and Japan. Specifically: The Provincial People's Committee organized a delegation to promote the locality in Japan, participating in the Local Promotion Program in Japan in December 2019. After the trip, the province continued to contact and implement connection activities with the government of Tosa city, Koichi province, Japan. At the same time, participating in events organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country: Meeting with Japanese enterprises (October 2017), Meeting with Japan in Hanoi (November 2020).

The Provincial People's Committee also presided over and coordinated with the Foreign Service Center and International Conference (FSC), the Japan - Vietnam Exchange Center to organize the program "Meeting Gia Lai - Japan 2022" within the framework of "Event Week to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of Gia Lai province" from May 22-23, 2022 with about 300 guests including the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam, the Consulate General of Japan in Vietnam and businesses, representatives of ministries, localities, politicians, and Japanese artists attending.

Most recently, a delegation from Gia Lai province led by Mr. Rah Lan Chung, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, went to Japan to promote trade and investment from August 20-25, 2023.

Panoramic view of Pleiku city, Gia Lai. (Photo: Phan Nguyen)

Awaken your potential

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that the new development phase opens up promising development opportunities for Gia Lai. These potentials and advantages need to be awakened.

Gia Lai Provincial Party Committee has issued Resolution No. 07-NQ/TU with the view that it is necessary to attract investment with focus and key points to exploit potentials, advantages, and resources to create breakthroughs for rapid and sustainable economic development.

The goal by 2030 is for Gia Lai to become the driving force of the Central Highlands, with an important position in the Cambodia - Laos - Vietnam Development Triangle. At the same time, Gia Lai will become a large-scale concentrated agricultural production area, with a variety of products for consumption and export; linking production with deep processing of agricultural products.

In the field of renewable energy industry, the province strives to attract and put into operation over 3,000-3,500 MW, with a total investment capital of over 156,000 billion VND. Along with that, tourism will become an important economic sector, creating a driving force to promote the development of service industries. By 2025, tourism is expected to welcome 1.7 million visitors...

To realize the above goal, the province will continue to pay attention to planning and planning management. Review and accelerate the progress of making and implementing all types of planning, especially key planning, planning related to investment attraction, and investment projects using land in accordance with regulations.

At the same time, Gia Lai will strongly reform administrative procedures, improve the investment and business environment. Promote the transformation of crop structure. Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of state management in economic development, convert production towards organic, clean agriculture, develop renewable industry...

In addition, the province will continue to build a team of professional, friendly staff who listen and resolve investors' legitimate requests, build an equal, open, transparent business investment environment with preferential policies, support solutions... to invite and attract investors, especially Japanese investors to Gia Lai, to awaken potential, cooperate and develop.

Gia Lai province's report shows that the average gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in the province is estimated to increase by 9.1% in the 2021-2023 period (the target is 8.6% or more); GRDP per capita will reach 71.42 million VND in 2023 (the target for 2025 is 79.5 million VND). The average production value of agriculture, forestry and fishery in the 2021-2023 period will increase by 3.97%.

Total social investment capital is estimated at over VND 152,000 billion (an average increase of 17.24% per year). In the period of 2021 - 2023, the trade and service sector will grow by an average of 14.33%; total retail turnover in 2021, 2022 and estimated in 2023 will reach VND 72,259 billion, VND 89,643 billion and VND 108,000 billion, respectively. The trade system is developing quite rapidly in terms of quantity and scale of operations in both urban and rural areas.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/cung-nha-dau-tu-nhat-ban-danh-thuc-tiem-nang-gia-lai-248943.html