Special Economic Zones - Development Drivers and Sustainable Values
(Baonghean.vn) - In recent days, the National Assembly has discussed the draft Law on Special Administrative-Economic Units of Van Don, Bac Van Phong, Phu Quoc (Special Economic Zone Law). It can be said that this is a draft Law that has received special attention, because of the provisions on the 99-year land lease term.
The sensitivity comes from patriotism. Even Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, when he proactively met with the press, welcomed that extremely enthusiastic spirit and atmosphere and emphasized, "With the spirit of such a patriotic nation, we are not worried about losing our country."
However, there is a problem with the method of perception. First of all, we must affirm that special economic zones are not a new issue in the world, both in terms of success and failure. For Vietnam, "making special economic zones" in the country's development calculations has been placed on the National Assembly's agenda as an "inevitable trend".
The issue we need to discuss is how to "design special economic zones" to ensure the creation of "growth poles" and new "driving forces" for the country's sustainable development in the future, ensure the country's independence and sovereignty in the long term, and ensure the fundamental and consistent national interests throughout the process of preserving the country of Vietnam, as Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc himself affirmed.
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| A corner of Van Phong Bay. Source: Internet |
Among the three planned locations for special economic zones, the one that is particularly meaningful to the country with a long-term vision is Bac Van Phong. Why? Along the 3,260 km length of Vietnam's coastline, there are many bays and coves, but none can compare to Van Phong Bay with a unique "resource" created by nature for Vietnam, which is the shipping lane that allows the construction of a true international transit port for the country. It is not by chance that, while he was still alive, the late Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet once said: Van Phong is a legacy for future generations.
To reiterate, the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew became great, starting from realizing the position to build Singapore into a regional Logistics hub, right after the island nation was founded.
Dr. Chu Quang Thu - former Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration was the pioneer in the "test" in Van Phong. On May 3, 2002, after 2 months of surveying, the Vietnam Maritime Administration brought the first oil tanker, with a capacity of 100,000 DWT, to Van Phong. Only 8 days of cargo handling brought 85 billion VND to the Khanh Hoa budget, while the entire local tourism industry's annual revenue was only 32 billion VND.
Just like that, in the first 7 months of 2002, Khanh Hoa’s budget had a surplus of 400 billion to build a road from Cam Ranh airport to Nha Trang. If Van Phong, with its position on the edge of the international shipping route from East to West, from South to North, is built into an international transit port, it will truly be a new turning point for the country. The problem is who will invest? Waiting for the budget, Van Phong will forever “sleep” on the ocean shore.
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| Khanh Hoa Port. Source: Internet. |
Developing an international transit port associated with logistics services and a large international financial and commercial center is the basic and central orientation when we “design” the Bac Van Phong special economic zone. Investing in an international transit port requires a “century-long” mindset, and cannot be “tied down” to 70 years, or even 99 years.
The exploitation and use period of port infrastructure and logistics infrastructure projects can only be implemented by giant international financial corporations, requiring long land use periods. In fact, when "designing" land lease periods for each specific project with the "formula" of leasing land for up to 99 years, there are precedents in countries, typically Thailand, Malaysia, Dubai, Australia, the British Virgin Islands or the Cayman Islands. These are all very successful special economic zones in the world.
The remaining problem is to "control" and eliminate potential risks from partners that threaten the country's independence and sovereignty.
That is the most sensitive “sustainable value” in the political perception of the Vietnamese people, experienced through thousands of years of history. Of course, if we design and build special zones with only the conventional mindset of extending land lease terms and exempting all types of taxes for investors as we have done in economic zones stretching from North to South, which have now become “resistant”, it is predicted to fail.
The special economic zone we are designing is 20-30 years behind the world, enough time to transform Korea from a country devastated by war into a newly industrialized country (NICs) in an environment of the 4.0 technological revolution taking place in the world, requiring "4.0 thinking", not stopping at "0.4 thinking".
Van Don, Bac Van Phong, Phu Quoc will be built, and although different economic models are applied, the breakthrough needs to be based on the knowledge economy, with added value and outstanding creativity, coming from a desire to move the country forward - that is the only way to ensure the country's sustainable development, security and safety./.
