Can Tho sets sights on becoming a Mekong Delta hi-tech hub

At the August 10 conference that Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is expected to attend, the southern city’s authorities will showcase a list of 54 projects worth $4.78 billion in  trade and services, high-efficiency agriculture, and science and technology.

Vo Thanh Thong, Chairman of the Can Tho People’s Committee, said the projects can take different forms of investment including direct investment and public-private partnerships.

The conference, titled “Sharing potential for mutual development”, will see investment registration certificates granted to some projects, some prominent products and brands introduced and some ground broken for a number of key projects in the city.

In a meeting earlier this month with South Korean Ambassador Kim Do Hyun, Chairman Thong said Can Tho has allocated 197 hectares of land for a high-tech park project which needs foreign investment.

The future park will be about three kilometers from the Korea Vietnam Incubator Park (KVIP), an ongoing $21 million joint venture project between the governments of both nations to support research and development of industries with competitive advantages in Can Tho city and the Mekong Delta.

“The new park and KVIP could build up a high-tech region for the Mekong Delta Region,” Thong told the ambassador.

Thong also said an 18-hole golf course will make its debut this year to serve tourists, and businessmen and experts living in the city. Can Tho is also selecting investors for a second 18-hole golf course project, he added.

In late June, local authorities had met with representatives of Japanese firm Nippon Koei and requested assistance in planning the city’s industrial infrastructure development as also advice on researching and building logistics networks in the city.

Can Tho has been a top performer for the last six years in the provincial competitiveness index (PCI) prepared by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and international development agency USAID.

As of December 31, 2017, the city had 76 valid foreign-invested projects worth $687.7 million.