New impetus from the Southeast Nghe An Economic Zone
The Prime Minister has just issued Decision No. 490/QD-TTg approving the overall adjustment plan for the construction of the Southeast Nghe An Economic Zone, covering over 104,000 hectares, approximately five times larger than before. The new plan requires a reorganization of development space, increasing linkages between industry, urban areas, seaports, logistics, and service sectors. This also serves as a basis for Nghe An to continue improving its infrastructure, attracting investment, and forming highly interconnected development zones.
Restructuring development space: Integrating "Industry - Urban - Seaport"
According to Decision No. 490/QD-TTg dated March 27, 2026, of the Prime Minister, the Southeast Nghe An Economic Zone (EZ) has been expanded to 104,000 hectares, including over 93,300 hectares of land and nearly 11,000 hectares of sea surface, encompassing 25 communes and wards. However, the most important new aspect lies not only in the scale of the area, but also in the reorganization of the development space to form a highly interconnected economic-urban-industrial-seaport-logistics structure.
The Southeast Economic Zone is envisioned as a comprehensive, multi-sectoral economic zone. Its spatial development structure is organized according to a chain-connecting model: closely linking the coastal urban axis, the deep-water seaport system, and the urban-industrial chain along key transportation routes such as National Highway 1A, the North-South Expressway, and the coastal road.
This adjustment and expansion has definitively resolved the "bottlenecks" regarding the availability of industrial land, while creating a flexible mechanism for clearly defining functional zoning: from high-tech industrial parks and port logistics zones to regional ecological urban areas and tourism and resort service zones.
As one of the new localities included in the expanded Southeast Economic Zone according to Decision 490 of the Prime Minister, According to Ho Anh Thang, Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Thang commune: “During the general planning process, the commune closely coordinated with the Management Board of the Southeast Economic Zone; proposing the planning of 6 industrial clusters with a total area of approximately 450 hectares in the commune. From now until 2030, Quynh Thang commune will implement 3 out of 6 planned industrial clusters according to Decision No. 490. Currently, infrastructure investors have registered to participate. Promoting industrial development will help the locality achieve higher and more sustainable economic growth, solve the employment problem, increase budget revenue, and create momentum for the rapid development of Quynh Thang commune.”
Assessing the new stature of the Southeast Economic Zone, economic experts believe this is a crucial turning point creating a strong attraction for foreign direct investment (FDI). Associate Professor Dr. Tran Dinh Thien – former Director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics – emphasized: "I am confident that this planning adjustment will create a very positive attraction for foreign investors, especially high-level investors. The momentum has already been established. However, 'the game has just begun,' requiring Nghe An to take concrete action to bring leading Vietnamese and international investors to the area."
Forming two dynamic zones linked to two seaport gateways.
To elaborate on the planning directions, Mr. Nguyen Manh Loi – Deputy Head of the Management Board of the Southeast Nghe An Economic Zone – said that the new plan organizes the Economic Zone into two dynamic areas linked to two distinct growth poles:
- Vinh - Cua Lo area:With Vinh city, Cua Lo, Cua Lo Port, and the Nam Cam, WHA, Tho Loc, and VSIP industrial parks as its core, this area leverages its combined strengths in urban development, services, education, healthcare, high-quality human resources, seaports, and Vinh International Airport.
- Hoang Mai - Dong Hoi area:With Hoang Mai, Dong Hoi, and Dong Hoi Port as the core areas, this region offers significant potential for breakthrough development in heavy industry, energy, port infrastructure, and logistics services.
The combination of these two areas creates the model."Two dynamic regions, two seaport gateways, and a wide-open interconnected space."From the coastal region, it connects deep into western Nghe An, as well as the East-West economic corridor connecting with Laos and northeastern Thailand.
Action plan: 9 trillion VND invested in connecting infrastructure during the 2026-2030 period.
Transforming the planning project on paper into a practical driving force is a major challenge. Specifically, to implement Plan No. 516/KH-UBND dated June 17, 2026, of the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee on the implementation of Decision No. 490/QĐ-TTg, the Southeast Economic Zone Management Board is focusing on three key tasks:
Completing the legal framework:The focus is on developing the master plan for the Southeast Economic Zone and sub-zone plans in key areas; and building detailed implementation plans for each stage up to 2050.
Breakthrough in technical infrastructure:The province will focus public investment on removing traffic bottlenecks to improve connectivity. Construction is expected to begin in the 2026-2030 period.6 key projectswith a total investment of approximately9,000 billion VND, creating the infrastructure foundation to lead the new phase.
Mobilizing resources and attracting selective investment:The State budget plays the role of "seed capital" for investment in shared infrastructure projects; at the same time, it mobilizes non-budgetary resources to develop industrial parks and functional zones. The investment attraction orientation prioritizes high-tech projects, clean technology, supporting industries, energy-saving projects, and land-saving projects.
Besides technical infrastructure, the issue of social infrastructure and ensuring people's livelihoods is also given top priority. In industrial parks and new urban areas, the province requires the simultaneous investment in social housing, worker accommodation, schools, and medical facilities; at the same time, land clearance must be linked to vocational training, job chuyển đổi, and environmental protection.
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Decision No. 490/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister is not just a purely planning document, but a "strategic map" that opens up new development opportunities for Nghe An in the coming decades. With a scale of over 104,000 hectares already defined, the Southeast Nghe An Economic Zone is ready to become a growth engine, propelling the local economy to take off alongside the rest of the country.
