Expanding the boundary of Nam Giang Border Gate Economic Zone

Joint border control station in the center of Sub-region I. Photo: TRINH DUNG

Drip investment

The Nam Giang border gate joint control station, customs office, economic zone management board... are located on the last slope of National Highway (QL) 14D, 74km long from Ben Gieng to the border. There are no warehouses, yards, or cargo gathering points... at the border gate.

Hundreds of container trucks and large transport vehicles are parked on the empty land to the right of the checkpoint or parked in long lines along the national highway, waiting to go through customs clearance procedures.

The capital of nearly 204.2 billion VND allocated for many years was only temporarily invested in Sub-zone I (the center of the economic zone) for a few roads, drainage systems, power supply systems, etc., but they were also unstable and degraded. In August 2021, it was officially "upgraded" to an international border gate, but National Highway 14D is still a level 5 mountainous road, making it difficult to attract investment.

After 20 years of investment, the plan to build the border economic zone into a comprehensive economic zone, an important gateway to the Central Key Economic Zone, connecting Southern Laos and Northeastern Thailand failed.

The master plan for the construction of Nam Giang Border Gate Economic Zone until 2025, approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 387 dated March 24, 2009 with a total natural area of ​​31,060 hectares, has not been able to be realized in reality.

Apart from Sub-area I (30ha) which has some vitality, the remaining two sub-areas in Cha Val (about 630ha) and La Dee (about 56ha) lack urban areas, residential areas, trade - services...

Sub-zone I, according to the adjusted planning, will build import-export control agencies and large parking lots, without residential areas. Photo: TRINH DUNG

According to statistics from the Nam Giang Border Gate Economic Zone Management Board, import and export goods through the border gate are increasing. The main exports are machinery, equipment, supplies, construction materials, auto parts, asphalt, etc.

Mainly imported are electricity, sawn timber, tapioca starch, cranes, crane trucks, industrial machines... Most of the goods are in transit such as tapioca starch, bauxite aluminum ore (Laos transits through Vietnam to Da Nang port, Chan May port and THACO port to China).

Mr. Nguyen Huu Tien - Deputy Head of Nam Giang Border Gate Economic Zone Management Board said that in 2024, the total volume of goods passing through the border gate increased by 474% compared to 2023 (nearly 1.8 million tons), the most being transit goods, up 591% (over 1 million tons), the total number of vehicles entering and exiting the border gate increased by 352% (over 112 thousand trips).

Not only has the increased traffic frequency put pressure on the border gate infrastructure, but the harsh weather in this area has also had a strong impact on the degradation of the border gate infrastructure.

Mr. Thieu Viet Dung - Deputy Head of the Management Board of Quang Nam Economic Zones and Industrial Zones said that heavy-duty vehicles with high frequency are increasing, the weather is harsh, most of the works and technical items at the border gate and National Highway 14D are severely degraded. However, the infrastructure is lacking, not enough investment to match the nature of an international border gate.

Planning for the future

Surveys and investigations from 70 import-export enterprises through Nam Giang border gate have forecasted that by the end of 2025, import-export turnover through the border gate will reach nearly 1.2 billion USD.

National Highway 14D to Nam Giang border gate is degraded. Photo: TRINH DUNG

Quang Nam authorities have developed a Master Plan for the development of Nam Giang International Border Gate Economic Zone for the 2022-2025 period, with a vision to 2030.

Conduct many assessments of import and export cargo volume, types of goods transported, annual growth rate to be able to accurately forecast investment efficiency... to adjust the planning of this economic zone.

Quang Nam Provincial People's Committee announced the adjustment of the general planning for the construction of the border economic zone, which will move the research further down to Ben Giang (the area on both sides along National Highway 14D).

Sub-zone I will prioritize arranging vehicle storage areas, not residential areas. Only residential areas will be arranged in Sub-zones II & III. Sub-zone II (Cha Val) will invest in warehouses to gather and transit goods to create jobs, local labor, and arrange suitable residential areas.

Sub-area III (La Dee) will reserve land for service, industrial and production development, and arrange the current population to create land funds, minimizing the formation of new residential areas...

The border gate center will be repaired or invested to match the level of an international border gate. Adjusting and orienting the development planning of a comprehensive economic zone, an important gateway connecting the Northeast of Thailand, Southern Laos with the Central Key Economic Zone via EWEC 2 is necessary.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Quang - Head of the Management Board of Quang Nam Economic Zones and Industrial Zones said that the border gate was established in 2006. The planning is very large (31,060 hectares), but in fact only more than 1,000 hectares of functional areas can be developed, the rest is located in the Thanh River special-use forest. It is very difficult to impact.

Currently, many large corporations want to invest, but the current planning does not meet the requirements. The Provincial People's Committee and the Government have a policy to adjust the boundaries of this economic zone in the direction of eliminating all special-use forests.

Determine to open an economic zone from the border to Ben Giang, along National Highway 14D. Consulting agencies are calculating to avoid conflicts between the economic zone and residential areas through planning functional subdivisions. Expanding and connecting both the border gate economic zone and Ho Chi Minh Road will open up an economic space, creating development momentum for the entire Central region.

According to Mr. Thieu Viet Dung - Deputy Head of the Management Board of Quang Nam Economic Zones and Industrial Parks, the Provincial People's Committee has approved the outline and budget for the project to adjust the boundary of Nam Giang Border Gate Economic Zone.

The area is about 34,160 hectares, including 31,060 hectares of old planning and 3,100 hectares of planned expansion. This boundary adjustment project is consistent with the orientation of the Quang Nam planning project 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, as a basis for adjusting the general planning for the construction of the Nam Giang Border Gate Economic Zone in the coming period.

Currently, the Ministry of Finance's consultants have completed the survey, collected opinions from departments, branches, and Nam Giang district and are completing the boundary adjustment. Once the locality agrees, it will submit it to the Central Government for appraisal and approval, and then proceed to adjust the general planning of the Nam Giang Border Gate Economic Zone, expected to be completed this year.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/mo-rong-ranh-gioi-khu-kinh-te-cua-khau-nam-giang-3153023.html