Vietnam to connect coffee belt with $5.1 billion infrastructure investment

The Central Highlands is strategically important to Vietnam’s economic growth.

Known as Vietnam’s coffee belt, the region’s five provinces of Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Lam Dong, Gia Lai and Kon Tum supply 80 percent of the country’s coffee output.

Vietnam is now one of the world’s largest coffee exporter with its market share jumping from only 0.1 percent to 20 percent in just 30 years. This has helped to significantly transform the country’s economy.

The Central Highlands is also home to several agricultural commodities such as pepper, cocoa and increasingly cashews, which have greatly contributed to Vietnam’s export-driven economy.

However, the Central Highlands remains one of the least developed regions in the country due mainly to poor infrastructure.  

The Vietnamese government will invest 115 trillion dong ($5.1 billion) to boost transport infrastructure in the Central Highlands over the next four years. Photo from the Ministry of Transport's website

The government has adopted a variety of policies to push the region forward.

The latest project will focus on upgrading roads, especially those connecting the Central Highlands with the south central coastal region and borders areas between Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

The Transport Ministry also plans to upgrade the airports in the provinces of Dak Lak and Lam Dong.

The ministry will work with local authorities to mobilize funds for the construction of railway routes to facilitate aluminum mining and production in the Central Highlands and help connect the region to seaports.

More than VND60.6 trillion has been invested in the region over the past five years, said the steering committee.