Kien Giang asks the Politburo for permission to establish Phu Quoc city

According to the Government Office, during a working session with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc last week, leaders of Kien Giang province proposed establishing Phu Quoc city and Tho Chau island district. The Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Home Affairs to guide the province in preparing a report to ask for the Politburo's opinion in the third quarter of 2019. If this proposal is approved, Phu Quoc will be the first island city in Vietnam.

Explaining the request for approval to establish Phu Quoc city and wards under Phu Quoc city, the People's Committee of Kien Giang province said that the current rural (district) government model is no longer able to meet management requirements in the new situation, with many difficulties and shortcomings. These are population management, household registration, civil status, construction management, construction order, investment licensing, environmental and ecological issues...

Phu Quoc will be an island city after being upgraded to a special economic zone.

Phu Quoc is the largest island in Vietnam with an area of ​​over 589 km2, currently has 2 towns and 8 communes, including Tho Chau commune. Currently, Phu Quoc has a population of over 127,700 people. By the end of the first quarter of 2019, there were 304 projects registered for investment in Phu Quoc, with registered investment capital reaching 361,054 billion VND, of which two-thirds are tourism development projects.

Regarding the development orientation of this locality, previously, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Kien Giang province proposed that the Prime Minister stop the establishment of a master plan for the socio-economic development of Phu Quoc island into a Special Economic Zone until the Law on Special Administrative-Economic Units (also known as the Special Zone Law) is passed by the National Assembly.

At the same time, the province proposed to allow the province to use local budget to establish a new master plan for socio-economic development of Phu Quoc island in the direction of becoming Phu Quoc Economic Zone. This proposal is awaiting the final opinion of the Government leaders. However, in the opinion section, the Ministry of Construction also agreed with this local proposal.

During the meeting with the Prime Minister, the leaders of Kien Giang province also proposed investing in additional runways, expanding the terminal of Phu Quoc International Airport and expanding Rach Gia Airport. The Government leaders assigned the Ministry of Transport to study and consider adjusting the planning and investment plan, and report to the Prime Minister on these proposals.