Transport infrastructure plays an important role in Da Nang Free Trade Zone

Experts and businesses all emphasize the role of transport infrastructure in the Da Nang Free Trade Zone, so there needs to be mechanisms, policies and support for investment in infrastructure.

Experts and businesses all emphasize the role of transport infrastructure in the Da Nang Free Trade Zone, so there needs to be mechanisms, policies and support for investment in infrastructure.

Applying policies on infrastructure investment

At the discussion session on developing Da Nang into a regional logistics center within the Forum “Da Nang Free Trade Zone - New driving force for the development of Da Nang logistics industry” organized by the People's Committee of Da Nang City, Ms. Dao Thanh Huong, Deputy Director, Department of Industrial Economy and Services, Ministry of Planning and Investment, said that for logistics services, infrastructure plays an important role in connecting production and trade.

According to Ms. Dao Thanh Huong, it is necessary to review and list current policies that can be applied to the Da Nang Free Trade Zone.

“What are the boundaries and specific policy mechanisms? That is the basis for investors interested in investing in Da Nang, to have the basis and evidence to implement,” Ms. Huong affirmed.

From here there are 2 stories related to attracting investment in Da Nang Free Trade Zone.

First is the policy mechanism to attract investment in the free trade zone. What outstanding policies and unprecedented policies will be included in the project?

Next is the policy to attract investment in transport infrastructure outside the free trade zone, which for logistics is airport, road and port infrastructure. The story of infrastructure continues to be invested in, but in the context of limited state budget, the story of public-private partnership is given priority. According to Ms. Huong, public-private partnership in the transport sector is a priority area.

“For areas outside the zone, whether we like it or not, we still have to apply the current policy. Regarding mechanisms, policies, investment attraction processes, and budget estimation processes, Da Nang City will prioritize infrastructure outside the zone for connection. Da Nang’s locations related to the free trade zone will be linked together,” said Ms. Huong.

And the requirement is the priority order of infrastructure investment; infrastructure connecting the zones is shown through the priority of budget allocation, list of attracting public-private partnership...

“We must make a clear distinction, the story is not about investment in general but about investment outside the zone, inside the zone, the highest incentive policies outside the zone. The story of investment outside the zone must review all current policies and mechanisms, list them to apply to Da Nang City. As for policies inside the zone, the outstanding incentive policies that a free trade zone needs to create a driving force for Da Nang City's development, we also boldly list them in the content of the submitted project,” Ms. Huong mentioned.

Meanwhile, Mr. Vo Van Khanh, Chief Representative of the Vietnam E-commerce Association in the Central Highlands region, proposed establishing a cross-border trade hub in the Da Nang Free Trade Zone to easily attract investors.

The Chief Representative of the Vietnam E-commerce Association in the Central Highlands region proposed establishing a cross-border trade hub in the Da Nang Free Trade Zone.

Mr. Khanh cited data on Amazon that there are currently more than 10 million Vietnamese products being sold, showing the importance of e-commerce. According to Mr. Khanh, there should be a cross-border e-commerce hub located right in Da Nang City and right in the Da Nang Free Trade Zone to take advantage of policies, incentives, and taxes, and this is also a driving force to promote logistics.

Promote the role of management agencies

From the perspective of a port operator, Mr. Le Quang Duc, Deputy General Director of Da Nang Seaport Joint Stock Company, said that there is an organic connection between the seaport and Da Nang Free Trade Zone and that development goes hand in hand.

The Deputy General Director of Da Nang Seaport Joint Stock Company proposed that Lien Chieu Port be located in the Da Nang Free Trade Zone.

For the future Lien Chieu Port, Mr. Duc assessed that it is necessary to ensure really good procedures. And for the free trade zone, the representative of Da Nang Port Joint Stock Company said that this requires a stronger change; especially in customs operations, customs clearance time must be the fastest, and better yet, there cannot be data congestion or stoppage of customs clearance operations.

“We must determine the comparative advantages of Da Nang, Da Nang Free Trade Zone with neighboring free trade zones in the world; from there we must strive, must have more competitive advantages than others so that investors can come here,” said Mr. Duc.

Mr. Duc also highly valued the role of transport infrastructure. Because the free trade zone solves a part of the problem of goods, in the long term, for Lien Chieu Port to develop well, the traffic connecting the area must be really good. When Lien Chieu Port develops well, it will create competitive advantages, comparative advantages for the Da Nang Free Trade Zone.

Therefore, Mr. Duc suggested that Lien Chieu Seaport should be included in the Da Nang Free Trade Zone because of its organic connection. Lien Chieu Seaport is oriented to have an international transit role, but in the near future, Lien Chieu Port will not be able to solve the task of international trade gateway. "The role of the state management agency should be to include Lien Chieu Port to enjoy initial incentives, create competitive advantages, and create a boost for development," Mr. Duc suggested.

From the perspective of a port operator in the Savannakhet Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Laos, Mr. Tran Quang Huy, Director of Operations DP Word, Savan Logistics Company, assessed that to develop cross-border logistics and transportation services, certain factors are needed.

Firstly, with state agencies, Savan Logistics representative proposed supporting infrastructure "because to develop logistics whether domestic or cross-border, infrastructure is the most important factor, only with infrastructure can development be possible".

Savan Logistics representative spoke at the discussion session.

The second is to support policies that facilitate the development of logistics and cross-border transportation; support paperwork procedures to facilitate customs clearance of import and export goods, such as instead of some places still declaring on paper, it should be switched to online declaration to be quick and save time.

Mr. Huy also shared the story of the business taking advantage of its strategic location to connect with surrounding countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, China, etc. From there, the business developed its capacity in terms of warehouses, human resources, customs support services, etc.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/ha-tang-giao-thong-dong-vai-tro-quan-trong-doi-voi-khu-thuong-mai-tu-do-da-nang-d230004.html