Located in the south of Ho Chi Minh City and in the southern key economic region, Tien Giang is a Mekong River Delta province bordering Long An province to the north, Ben Tre province to the south, the East Sea to the east and Dong Thap province to the west. Situated on the north bank of Tien river, a branch of the Mekong River, and covering some 2,510 square kilometers, Tien Giang has a population of 1.75 million (according to the 2017 statistics). Its social-cultural-political center is My Tho city, surrounded by Cai Lay and Go Cong towns and eight districts (Cai Be, Chau Thanh, Cai Lay, Go Cong Dong, Go Cong Tay, Tan Phuoc, Cho Gao and Tan Phu Dong).
The on-going construction of Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong expressway connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Tien Giang in particular and Ho Chi Minh City and other Mekong River delta provinces in general and Trung Luong-My Thuan expressway running across five districts of the province will help promote economic cooperation and expand cultural exchange and boost tourism development between Tien Giang province and Ho Chi Minh city and neighboring provinces.
FDI for hi-tech agriculture
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has suggested Tien Giang’s development of its economy based on five pillars: hi-tech agriculture, organic fruits, farm produce processing industry, eco-tourism, and logistics.
At present, Tien Giang province accommodates four industrial parks (IPs) and four industrial clusters. It plans to set up four more industrial complexes this year and develop and raise the efficiency of existing IPs and industrial clusters’ operation.
Nguyen Dinh Thong, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, told Vietnam Law and Legal Forum magazine that in the first four months of 2019, Tien Giang granted investment licenses to two Chinese projects totaling USD 346.9 million and permitted three existing FDI projects to add USD 21.5 million to their registered investment capital.
According to Thong, the province currently hosts 121 FDI projects from 21 nations and territories which have a total capital of USD 2.57 billion. As a result, Tien Giang ranks fourth among 12 provinces and one city in the Mekong River delta. At present, China is the top investor with the combined registered capital of USD 818 million; followed by Hong Kong, USD 560 million and the Republic of Korea (RoK), USD 412 million. China’s projects are specialized in textile and garments, metal processing, food processing and plastics. FDI projects have created jobs for 120,000 local workers.
Tien Giang is calling for investment in hi-tech agriculture and environment-friendly industrial projects in Chau Thanh and Tan Phuoc districts and hi-tech aquaculture projects in Tan Phu Dong district, Thong added.
He also revealed the province’s plan to organize investment promotion conferences in Japan and the RoK and its determination to improve effectiveness of the operation of the Tien Giang Investment Promotion and Enterprise Support Agency.
The province is also calling for investment in the Hoa Hung ecological tourism zone in Hoa Hung commune of Cai Be district and the Tan Long entertainment and service zone in My Tho city.
At present, projects investing in manufacturing products of allied industries to meet the European Union technical standards for use in textile and garments, footwear, information-technology, automobile assembling and mechanical engineering sectors are enjoying a corporate income tax rate of 10 percent for 15 years.
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| Growing vegetables by hydroponic technology in net-houses in My Tho city, Tien Giang province__Photo: Minh Tri/VNA |
Eco-tourism development
With a 32km coastline and a dense network of rivers and canals, Tien Giang province is home to 73,000 ha of orchards with diversified specialty fruits such as Cho Gao dragon fruit, Hoa Loc mango, Ngu Hiep durian, Tan Phuoc pineapple and Vinh Kim star apple. The province is well-known for eco, spiritual, cultural-historical and community-based agricultural tourism with various tours to Thoi Son islet, one of the four famous islets in Tien river, Dong Hoa Hiep village, the floating market and traditional craft village (in Cai Be district), the orchards on Tan Phong islet (in Cai Lay district), and the Dong Thap Muoi ecological conservation area and Truc Lam Chanh Giac monastery (in Tan Phuoc district).
According to Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Van Dung, the province has organized Farmtrips to develop new and attractive tourist products in Tien Giang, Dong Thap and Long An provinces.
Every year, the province organizes 17 culture, sports and tourism festivals. The tourist guide contest and product creativeness contest are also held.
The province welcomed 49,400 foreign tourists in the first four months of this year.
Tien Giang province sets the target of making tourism a spearhead economic sector with professionalism and modern and adequate technical and physical facilities, and high-quality and competitive branded tourist products.
The hospitality sector targets 840,000 foreign holiday-makers and VND 1.14 billion (USD 49.19 trillion) revenue this year.
It is forecast to attract some 900,000 foreigners and around 1.9 million foreigners and generate a total revenue of VND 7.3 trillion (USD 0.32 trillion) and around VND 24 trillion (USD 1.04 trillion) by 2020 and 2030, respectively. The sector is expected to create at least 34,800 jobs for local workers by 2020.- (VLLF)
