Facing the open sea

Leveraging its advantages of sea and islands, An Giang is focusing its efforts on developing a sustainable marine economy, linked with investment in infrastructure, tourism, and fisheries, creating new growth drivers for the future.

Beach tourism in Phu Quoc Special Economic Zone. Photo: THUY TRANG

An Giang is one of the provinces with a vast sea area, numerous islands and archipelagos, and a diverse and rich marine ecosystem; it is also a fishing ground with high seafood reserves in the country. The province has a sea area of ​​over 63,000 km2, a coastline of over 200 km, and more than 140 large and small islands, many of which are inhabited. Located in the Gulf of Thailand, An Giang also has favorable conditions for trade with Southeast Asian countries. These advantages in geographical location and natural conditions create an important foundation for the province's socio -economic development, especially its marine economy.

According to Mr. Quach Van Toan, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, after more than 5 years of implementing Resolution No. 36-NQ/TW of the 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam on "Strategy for sustainable development of Vietnam's marine economy to 2030, with a vision to 2045" and Action Program No. 47-CTr/TU of the Provincial Party Committee, An Giang's marine economy has made strong progress, contributing significantly to socio-economic growth.

Coastal and island tourism is developing strongly and increasingly asserting its pivotal role in the province's marine economic structure. To date, An Giang has attracted 317 tourism investment projects with a total registered capital of approximately 402,000 billion VND. Tourism products are gradually being diversified and improved in quality. The technical infrastructure serving tourism has received comprehensive and modern investment and is being effectively utilized, including: waterway ports, an international airport, road transport systems, water supply, electricity, telecommunications, and accommodation facilities, meeting the needs of tourists well.

During the period 2021-2025, An Giang province is expected to welcome approximately 80.8 million tourists, including 3.4 million international visitors; total tourism revenue is estimated at 142,800 billion VND. Phu Quoc Special Economic Zone continues to be the province's most attractive destination, with the highest growth rate of international visitors in the Mekong Delta region.

The province also focuses on developing the aquaculture, fishing, and seafood processing sectors in an industrial, modern, and sustainable direction. Seafood production reaches over 814,000 tons per year; the area for marine aquaculture is expanding, forming high-tech farming zones in Phu Quoc and Kien Hai. Total seafood export turnover for the period 2021-2025 is expected to exceed US$1.4 billion, with an average annual increase of approximately 2%. The maritime economy is also receiving investment, with resources mobilized to upgrade the port system, develop the fleet, and meet the needs of domestic transportation, marine tourism, and island tourism.

The marine economy is gradually becoming one of the important pillars of the province's economy. For the 2025-2030 term, the Provincial Party Committee aims to make An Giang one of the nation's leading marine economic centers. To realize this goal, the province needs to continue its comprehensive efforts across many sectors, while also leveraging the attention and investment support from the central government.

Phu Quoc is being developed into an international-class tourism center. Alongside this, An Giang province will leverage its coastal advantages to implement land reclamation projects, creating land for coastal urban development; build a large fishing center and a seafood hub linked to coastal raw material areas; establish a biodiversity research center in Phu Quoc; integrate national marine spatial planning, and strongly develop marine economic sectors. The province will increase investment in infrastructure for inhabited islands. Simultaneously, it will promote research and application of science and technology, resource surveys, and marine environmental protection.

With its inherent potential and advantages, along with clear orientations and goals for marine economic development, An Giang is gradually realizing its aspiration to reach out to the open sea. With the determination of the entire political system, the consensus of the people, and the attention and support from the central government, An Giang will soon assert its position as one of Vietnam's leading marine economic centers in the near future.

According to Mr. Quach Van Toan, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the province is focusing resources and accelerating development to become a strong marine economy locality. By 2030, the goal is to reduce the proportion of fisheries production from 47% in 2025 to 20%; increase the proportion of aquaculture from 53% to 80%; and achieve an average annual increase of 4% in total seafood export turnover.

GIA BAO

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/huong-ra-bien-lon-a475304.html