Towards the 1st Khanh Hoa Provincial Party Congress, term 2025 - 2030: Van Phong Economic Zone: Aspiration to reach Asia

From a land of potential, Van Phong Economic Zone (EZ) is being awakened by bold decisions, billion-dollar projects and a strong desire to turn Khanh Hoa into a modern marine economic center, on par with the Asian region. This place has been planned and has a clear and specific roadmap, supported by a special mechanism and the consensus of the entire political system to rise strongly in the coming time.

Investment magnet

Van Phong is not a new name on the national planning map. Although it was established in 2006, it was not until Resolution No. 09 of the Politburo on the construction and development of Khanh Hoa province to 2030, with a vision to 2045 and Resolution No. 55 of the National Assembly on special mechanisms and policies for the development of Khanh Hoa province were issued that Van Phong Economic Zone really had the opportunity to develop strongly. These resolutions not only orient Van Phong to become the driving force for the development of the province and the South Central region, but also give the Economic Zone outstanding special mechanisms, the key factor to exploit its full potential.

A corner of Nam Van Phong with many leading industrial enterprises of the province.

The master plan for the construction of Van Phong Economic Zone to 2040, with a vision to 2050, approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 298, dated March 27, 2023, has outlined an impressive picture of the future. Accordingly, Bac Van Phong will be an international-class coastal tourism urban area, a modern marine economic center, a deep-water port associated with a duty-free zone. Nam Van Phong will become an industrial center associated with a seaport, along with urban area projects and coastal tourism services. This clear zoning shows a multi-sector, multi-field development vision, but with a focus and key points. Thanks to clear orientations and open mechanisms, Van Phong is becoming a magnet attracting huge investment capital flows.

Mr. Le Hong Phuong - Deputy Head of the Provincial Economic Zone and Industrial Park Management Board commented: “Van Phong Economic Zone is identified as one of the key economic centers of the country, with a unique and outstanding mechanism. This is the decisive factor for the province to compete fairly with large economic zones of other localities, attracting high-quality projects with spillover effects, creating strong development momentum for the whole province”.

According to the report of the Provincial Economic Zone and Industrial Park Management Board, up to now, Van Phong Economic Zone has attracted 155 investment projects (131 domestic projects and 24 FDI projects) with a total registered capital of about 5.4 billion USD. This figure is a clear demonstration of the attractiveness of Van Phong. In particular, the presence of large-scale FDI projects such as HD Hyundai Vietnam Shipyard (350 million USD), Van Phong 1 BOT Thermal Power Plant of Sumitomo Group - Japan (2.58 billion USD), or projects in the field of high-tech aquaculture and seafood processing of investor Australis Vietnam Limited (USA) with a total registered capital of about 68.19 million USD have created solid pillars, contributing greatly to the budget and creating jobs for local people.

Not stopping there, two strategic super projects, Tu Bong High-end New Urban Area (total capital of about 43,000 billion VND) and Dam Mon High-end New Urban Area (about 25,645 billion VND), were approved by the Prime Minister in June 2025, opening up great opportunities for tourism and urban development in this area. Currently, the Provincial Economic Zone and Industrial Park Management Board is implementing the process of selecting strategic investors, expected to be completed in September 2025. These are dynamic projects, not only attracting capital but also changing the face of urban areas and services, creating international-class living and working spaces.

Exploiting potential, reaching for the future

With a favorable geographical location, Van Phong Bay has an average depth of 20 - 27m, is sheltered from the wind, is not subject to sedimentation, and is close to international shipping routes, which are ideal conditions for developing deep-water ports and regional-scale seaport logistics services. Essential infrastructure serving the functional areas of the EZ, especially traffic infrastructure and resettlement areas, has been focused on investment by the province, such as: Traffic routes from National Highway 1 to Dam Mon; traffic routes outside Van Phong international transit port... In addition, the rich ecosystem, many beautiful beaches, islands and peninsulas with attractive landscapes create outstanding strengths for eco-tourism, high-end resorts, and large-scale entertainment. These "favorable weather and favorable terrain" factors are a solid foundation for Van Phong to develop in many industries and fields.

Van Phong 1 BOT Thermal Power Plant (left) and HD Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (right). Photo: Dinh Lam

Besides the advantages, there are still many difficulties and challenges that need to be overcome for Van Phong to truly make a breakthrough. Construction plans are in the process of being completed, land use targets for industrial parks and urban areas are still limited, not meeting the needs of attracting large investors. Difficulties in site clearance are also barriers that slow down the progress of key projects. Technical infrastructure of industrial parks in Van Phong Economic Zone is still not complete, affecting the attraction of secondary projects.

To solve these problems, the Provincial Economic Zone and Industrial Park Management Board has proposed a series of key solutions. In particular, the urgent completion of functional zoning plans to attract strategic investors is the top priority. At the same time, focusing on developing key marine economic sectors such as shipbuilding, ship repair, oil and gas, renewable energy (green hydrogen), marine tourism, high-tech aquaculture and high-quality logistics services. Attracting investors to develop strategic industrial parks and accelerating the construction of industrial park infrastructure is also of interest, aiming to increase the province's industrial development speed by an average of 15-20% per year in the period of 2026-2030.

In addition, making the most of the National Assembly's special policy mechanisms, promoting the effectiveness of the province's specialized working group and the Provincial Economic Zone and Industrial Park Management Board to support and promptly resolve problems for investors, speed up compensation, support, resettlement, site clearance, and improve the quality of human resources in the period of the 4.0 industrial revolution are all key solutions.

Mr. Tran Minh Chien - Head of the Provincial Economic Zone and Industrial Park Management Board said: "In the coming time, Van Phong Economic Zone strives to be in the top 3 best economic zones in Vietnam. We will focus on developing industry, logistics, tourism and urban areas to contribute to the economic growth of the province. In particular, with the groundbreaking event of Doc Da Trang Industrial Park Project, Van Phong is the first unit to implement the industrial pillar according to Resolution No. 01 of the Provincial Party Committee on rapid and sustainable development on the basis of 4 driving pillars (industry; energy; tourism - services; urban - construction)".

According to Mr. Chien, with the above mentioned key solutions and proposals, the Provincial Economic Zone and Industrial Park Management Board hopes to attract more and more large-scale projects to Van Phong Economic Zone, maximize untapped potential and strengths to develop into one of the large and modern marine economic centers of the region and the whole country, contributing to realizing the goal of building Khanh Hoa province to become increasingly rich and beautiful, becoming a centrally-run city, a smart, sustainable, unique urban area, on par with the Asian region according to Resolution No. 09 of the Politburo.

DINH LAM

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/kinh-te/202508/huong-toi-dai-hoi-dai-bieu-dang-bo-tinh-khanh-hoa-lan-thu-i-nhiem-ky-2025-2030-khu-kinh-te-van-phong-khat-vong-vuon-tam-chau-a-5c91d54/