ANTD.VN - Da Nang plans to reclaim the sea to create Vietnam's first Free Trade Zone (FTA). The sea reclamation policy has been approved by the Prime Minister. The planned location for the reclamation is Da Nang Bay.
Da Nang is urgently completing the Commercial Zone project to submit to the Government by the end of 2024 as requested. Of the 10 proposed locations for functional subdivisions, the most notable is the location expected to reclaim the sea along the coast of Nguyen Tat Thanh Street to Da Nang Bay - the section from Nguyen Sinh Sac Street to the border of Da Phuoc International Urban Area. This location is about 1km from the coast along Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in an area with a depth of about 7.2 - 11m.
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| A corner of Lien Chieu Port area connected to the Commercial Area. Photo by Kim Lien |
In June 2024, the National Assembly issued Resolution 136 on the organization of urban government and piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies for the development of Da Nang City (effective from January 1, 2025).
In particular, the pilot establishment of Vietnam's first commercial zone is expected to be an important driving force for Da Nang to enter the "era of growth", aiming to become one of the major socio-economic centers of the country and Southeast Asia by 2045.
According to the orientation, Da Nang Trade Zone will be a modern, high-quality production, logistics, trade and service center associated with Lien Chieu Seaport; a new driving force for sustainable development, ensuring the environment, national defense and security... The area of Da Nang Trade Zone by 2035 will reach about 2,400 hectares, after 2035 it will reach about 3,000 hectares.
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| Part of the shared infrastructure of Lien Chieu Port in July 2024. Photo by Kim Lien |
In September 2024, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh personally inspected the Da Nang Bay area and agreed to the policy of allowing Da Nang to reclaim the sea to create new land funds, expanding the development space of the Trade Center, but "it is necessary to carefully study and calculate the issues of landfill materials".
Da Nang Bay is considered to have many suitable criteria in terms of geographical location, environment, area, connectivity... currently the best for developing a free trade zone. The city has also preliminarily delineated the location of the sea encroachment to create a free trade zone located in Da Nang Bay.
According to Mr. Pham Bac Binh, Chairman of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises of Da Nang City, "the area planned to reclaim the sea to build the Da Nang Trade Center is an area without a coastline, so tourism cannot be developed. Therefore, reclaiming the sea in this area is completely appropriate." According to Mr. Binh, reclaiming the sea will also create a solid breakwater for Nguyen Tat Thanh Street.
Agreeing with this view, Dr. Du Van Toan, Institute of Marine and Island Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, also assessed that reclamation of 1,000 hectares of sea to serve the Trade Zone only accounts for less than 1/10 of the area of Da Nang Bay, this number is "not a problem". Because many countries in the world such as China have reclaimed up to 30% of the area of bays for economic and commercial development.
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| Da Nang Bay is a suitable location for reclaiming land from the sea, creating new land for the city. Photo: Kim Lien |
According to Dr. Du Van Toan, with experience in researching many models of expanding space towards the sea in the world, Da Nang Bay has complete advantages to reclaim the sea, creating development space for trade, services or even high-quality, ecological tourism...
Meanwhile, responding to concerns about marine environmental protection, expert Huynh Van Thang, Association for Nature and Environment Protection of Da Nang City, former Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that "the area planned to reclaim the sea to build the Da Nang free trade zone is not located in a nature reserve, this area is quite poor in marine species. If there is a policy, Da Nang should boldly research to assess whether it can be implemented and how to implement it."
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| The reclaimed area is also not part of the conservation area. Photo: Kim Lien |
In fact, in the world, land reclamation in bays to create new land for trade and service development is no longer strange and has proven to be economically effective as well as ensuring sustainable criteria. Singapore's Marina Bay is a typical example.
Marina Bay Sands Resort - a complex of business, resort and casino that contributes a significant proportion to the annual GDP of the lion island, or the 101-hectare Gardens by the Bay artificial forest, the largest natural park, a popular tourist destination in Singapore, are all built on reclaimed land from Marina Bay.
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| The “icon” Marina Bay Sands is built on Marina Bay. Photo Istock |
Meanwhile, in China, Tianjin Port also has 107 square kilometers of reclaimed land from the Bohai Gulf. In 2022, this is the world's fourth-largest seaport in terms of cargo throughput and third-largest in terms of container throughput with more than 400 million tons of cargo and more than 30 million TEU of containers.
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| Tianjin Port encroaches on Bohai Bay. Photo Istock |
Dubai's land reclamation miracle is realized in the Persian Gulf. The constructions currently present here are the Palm Jumeirah Islands; the 321m high Burj Al Arab "tower of Arabia", considered the "first 7-star hotel" in the world,... Odaiba is an artificial island near Tokyo Bay, built in the 1960s, now bustling with residential areas, famous tourist destinations and the multi-purpose complex Palette Town (including shopping malls, Fuji TV center, hotels, offices and entertainment areas). Another successful land reclamation model, demonstrating Japan's advanced technology and engineering, is Kansai International Airport located on an artificial island in Osaka Bay.
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| Dubai's famous Palm Jumeirah island . Photo Istock |
Returning to Da Nang, the location for reclaiming the sea to develop the Da Nang Bay Commercial Zone is zoned near Lien Chieu seaport - one of three deep-water seaports in Vietnam and close to the coastal road project connecting Lien Chieu port.
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| Map of 10 proposed locations for the construction of functional subdivisions in the Da Nang Trade Center |
According to experts, it is necessary to conduct more comprehensive research and assessment to see how much land needs to be reclaimed from the sea to have enough room for development not only for the city but also for the whole region, and to be suitable for the commercial center as well as long-term economic development orientations, especially when Da Nang is oriented to develop to reach international standards.
Source: https://www.anninhthudo.vn/vinh-da-nang-se-la-noi-lan-bien-de-xay-khu-thuong-mai-tu-do-post597835.antd
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