Con Dao Special Zone before the "historic transformation"

Among the 274 doctors of the 4th course of Ho Chi Minh City who were drawn to work at grassroots medical stations, 21 young doctors proactively registered to work at medical stations in the former provinces of Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau, including the Con Dao Military - Civilian Medical Center.

At the meeting with Con Dao Special Zone on July 25, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc proposed that the Department of Health organize a rotation of doctors to Con Dao, at the same time invest in equipment and develop hospitals to improve the quality of health care for the people of the special zone. Comrade Nguyen Van Duoc ordered the Con Dao Special Zone government to study more long-term solutions such as seawater filtration plants, solar power and wind power, and prioritize investment in a new waste treatment plant as soon as possible. In particular, Con Dao will take the lead in transformation to develop green transportation, towards eco-tourism and emission reduction in addition to focusing on digital economy , circular economy...

With both short-term and long-term movements, in both social security and strategic investment policies, Con Dao is preparing most fundamentally and comprehensively for a historic adjustment with the 1-3-1 model, including: 1 space (overview of Ho Chi Minh City) - 3 areas (Ho Chi Minh City area was formerly the "financial and high-tech capital"; Binh Duong area was formerly the "industrial capital", a center of production and high-tech industry; Ba Ria - Vung Tau area was formerly the "marine economic capital") - 1 special economic zone (Con Dao).

In the new format of Con Dao, first of all, it is necessary to ensure the "conservation value chain", that is, to develop without encroaching on existing resources. The value of economic activities must be controlled and balanced with the conservation of biodiversity value systems, natural resources, cultural heritage, and history of Con Dao itself. At the same time, it is necessary to connect to open up and develop special zones in the entire region, not only Ho Chi Minh City but also the whole Southeast region.

For example, maintaining Con Dao as a low-emission zone, that advantage must be ensured in four pillar projects: transportation, energy, marine economy and tourism - which are also the four major emission groups that Con Dao will have to focus all solutions to control, gradually moving towards net-zero carbon neutrality. Or when connecting the mainland and island spaces is a big obstacle, technology and high-speed transmission lines will be the solution that brings fast and... timely efficiency. Both "green" and "digital" are currently the optimal choice for the special zone.

From here, the requirement arises that, in order to preserve, exploit and develop Con Dao resources, a "resource" of a corresponding mechanism is needed, that is, to take advantage of and apply the advantages of special economic zone mechanisms in general (not only domestically) to create a strong enough push. With a location far from the mainland, investment and construction costs will be many times higher, so for key projects, allowing the appointment of strategic investors with sufficient financial potential and experience is reasonable. Outstanding incentives on corporate income tax are also a necessary tool to ensure the attractiveness and feasibility of large-scale infrastructure projects.

The need for public investment capital for Con Dao in the next 5 years is huge, estimated at about 16,000 billion VND, while local resources are limited. Therefore, Ho Chi Minh City can retain 70% of the excess revenue from the divided revenues as an important mechanism, creating additional resources to invest in infrastructure development, especially connecting infrastructure. Or a separate mechanism to establish independent projects such as compensation and resettlement for households leaving the protection zone II of the Con Dao Prison Historical Site to the proposal to build a public transport cable car connecting the airport with the center to minimize the impact on the forest ecosystem of the National Park compared to the plan to expand the existing road are "problems" that need to be solved soon for Con Dao to take off.

Dr. Truong Minh Huy Vu - Director of Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/dac-khu-con-dao-truoc-cuoc-chuyen-minh-lich-su-post807368.html