The Quiet Coastal Projects: Unlocking Development in Quang Nam

At the press conference on the socio-economic situation in the first six months and key tasks for the coming period, held on the afternoon of July 9th, several pressing issues were raised by journalists, including the slow progress and abandonment of coastal tourism projects, the rearrangement and placement of officials after the merger of administrative units, and the restoration of state capital in the Quang Nam Water Supply and Sewerage JSC.

According to the report, in the first half of the year, the GRDP growth rate increased by 2.7%; industrial production has recovered, trade and service activities have been vibrant, international visitors have increased significantly, and agricultural production has ensured progress and comprehensive growth.

Revenue and expenditure of the state budget were guaranteed according to the estimate (total state budget revenue in the first six months was VND 12,221 billion, reaching 51.8%); import and export value maintained a fairly high increase, and domestic and foreign investment attraction increased strongly in both the number of projects and registered capital.

However, there are still some shortcomings and limitations, such as the economy has not really recovered, especially in industrial production; some sources of revenue are low; disbursement of public investment capital is slow; compensation, site clearance, and handover of land faces many obstacles.

Businesses still face difficulties, with the number of businesses withdrawing from the market exceeding the number of newly established enterprises. The progress of key projects and works has not ensured timely implementation; complaints and denunciations related to land issues are complex and prolonged in some localities.

At the press conference, a journalist from Tien Phong Newspaper asked about the causes and solutions to the stagnant situation of billion-dollar coastal tourism projects in Quang Nam Province.

Mr. Nguyen Hung, Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Investment of Quang Nam Province, said that currently, the total number of tourism projects along the coast is 58, of which 5 have been revoked, leaving 53 projects that are still valid and continue to be implemented.

25 out of the 53 projects have been put into operation, contributing to the provincial budget. The remaining projects are under development, and some of them are facing difficulties and obstacles.

According to Mr. Hung, there are three main groups of obstacles faced by investors: deposit for business guarantee as required by regulations; adjustment of general planning; and difficulties in capital sources.

Many enterprises are struggling with the requirement to deposit a business guarantee. For commercial and service projects with a scale of about VND 3,000-4,000 billion, the deposit amount is very large. In this regard, the Department has advised and requested enterprises to commit that if they do not provide a guarantee within a certain period after being granted a certificate of investment policy decision adjustment, their project will be revoked.

For the group of projects facing difficulties due to site clearance and compensation, it is proposed to review and adjust the areas where compensation cannot be implemented. These areas will be handed over to the locality for management to ensure construction connectivity with the region’s infrastructure. For projects with feasible compensation plans, local units are requested to continue with the implementation.

“Although various solutions have been proposed, if investors are unable to implement them due to compensation issues or lack of financial capacity, the projects will be resolutely revoked,” said Mr. Hung.