Beach city within reach

Tourists visit Con Nhan beach. Photo: Trung Hau

Good news

From earlier or later than 3 am depending on the tide, Ly Van Cong and his wife boarded the boat to start a fishing trip close to shore. After getting married, from a seafaring worker, Cong "started his business" with a small fishing boat. The workforce consists of 3 people: he, his wife and a seafaring friend. Cong said: "A fishing trip can earn several million dong, the work starts from early morning until noon and then returns to shore. But depending on when the sea is rough or strong, you have to stay home. The main fishing season is from after Tet to June. This job takes half a year to save for half a year's food, thanks to that, we can feed 4 mouths, especially 2 children who are still in school!". Truly a seafarer. Cong speaks fluently, has a strong body, and tanned skin. His wife is also salty, with strong arms, she must be a skilled net-hand. Having been attached to the sea for more than half of his life, after 10 years of making a living by fishing, Mr. Cong confided: "The sea is a living, this sea gives a lot of fish and shrimp". After saying goodbye to the homeowner, Ms. Do Thi Tuyet - Head of Thanh Ninh Hamlet turned around and pointed to two spacious houses that still smelled of paint, saying: "Here, every now and then, I see a beautiful house appear. There, there! Like this pair of houses belongs to Mr. Cong's two brothers. The older brother also goes fishing in this sea".

People are happy because they can live thanks to the sea. That's why Mr. Le Van Vu Thanh - Chairman of Bao Thuan Commune People's Committee strongly said: "In a few years, you will see the difference. Very quickly. Talking about the seafaring profession and exploiting resources from the sea, this commune is only behind An Thuy (today's Tiem Tom town)". Then he excitedly said: "Do you know? The coastal route from Tien Giang to Ben Tre to Tra Vinh is 6km through Bao Thuan commune and then to An Thuy. There is a national highway passing through the commune, the people are very excited! Oh, Bao Thuan is also about to build a green Hydrogen production factory and the investor is also from Ba Tri".

Coming to Bao Thuan at the end of this year, I realized the positive signals from the economic development to the East according to the policy of the Provincial Party Committee. And indeed, the East is the sea. For generations, fishermen have gone out to sea to live with the sea, gaining many benefits from the sea. That is an indigenous resource, a generous gift from nature. However, in this 21st century, with the development of modern technology, what else can people exploit from the ocean? In addition to the gifts given by heaven, there are many things being saved, many things being exploited. The image of giant propellers sparkling on the sea surface of Bao Thuan, An Thuy is very familiar to the people of this area, just as people are gradually getting used to the terms: "wind power, solar power" that are present in the countryside. What about green hydrogen? Let's listen to science explain:

Green Hydrogen is a type of Hydrogen produced by using renewable energy such as wind, solar or hydroelectric power to electrolyze water (H ₂ O) into Hydrogen (H ₂ ) and Oxygen (O ₂ ). This process does not emit greenhouse gases, so it is considered environmentally friendly. Green Hydrogen is considered a clean and sustainable energy source.

Currently, green Hydrogen is widely used in many industries, such as: steel production, ammonia synthesis for fertilizer production, road transport for heavy trucks, both in sea and air transport...

Economic prosperity

When standing on Con Nhan to think about the sea, we suddenly remember that the sand dune system in the coastal area of ​​Ba Tri district in particular and Ben Tre province in general is the result of the process of sea erosion - advancing then retreating, retreating then advancing - repeated many times over millions of years. Therefore, the sea has formed in the Vietnamese consciousness about the impermanence of nature and life. "The sea becomes mulberry fields" and do we know that in each grain of salty alluvium is the result of the accumulation of countless spaces and times, the accumulation of countless knowledge of our ancestors to create the shape and appearance of this coastal area. Today, thanks to the application of new science and technology to the exploitation of indigenous resources, the coastal economy will certainly flourish strongly in the near future.

A corner of Con Nhan beach, Bao Thuan commune, Ba Tri district. Photo: Minh Hoang

Bao Thuan land is more favored by nature than other places, with sand mixed with alluvium. This natural condition has helped to distribute production in layers: the coastal area is for shrimp farming, followed by cotton growing land, and rice growing inside. Thus, Bao Thuan's direction is to develop a diversified economy, prioritizing the development of fishing and industrial shrimp farming.

A question arises: What will Bao Thuan do to welcome the new wind from the economic development policy to the East?

Chairman of the Commune People's Committee Le Van Vu Thanh said: "Bao Thuan has a high-tech road" (?). He explained: "Currently, the commune is calling for investment to develop tourism and shrimp farming. To do that, we must have a spacious infrastructure. High-tech roads are roads 8m wide or more leading to industrial shrimp farms, tourist attractions, green hydrogen production factories...".

Of course, land is getting more and more valuable. The leader of Bao Thuan commune said that information about economic development to the East, sea reclamation projects, coastal roads... has attracted many businesses to invest. Currently, the land price of Con Nhan tourist area has increased. Recently, a tourism investor bought 2 hectares of land on the embankment for 5 billion VND! Perhaps that is the land price that 2 years ago, people in this coastal commune could not have imagined. That is also understandable. On National Day, September 2, 2024, Bao Thuan commune was stuck in traffic. It sounds a bit strange! Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune Le Van Vu Thanh said: "About 3,000 people crowded, cars and motorbikes poured into Con Nhan beach. This is the first time Bao Thuan has been stuck in traffic. Although we have to focus on solving the problem to clear the road, it is also a very good sign because sea tourism is attracting visitors".

Aspiration to grow

According to the development orientation towards the East, how will Bao Thuan focus on human resources? Chairman of the Commune People's Committee Le Van Vu Thanh said: "Currently, the commune's cadres are standardized, most families in the commune are conscious of raising their children to study properly, the number of young people with university degrees or professional skills is increasing. That is the immediate future, but investment and training to improve human quality must continue to be promoted further". But Bao Thuan also has extremely important human resources. The shrimp and fish caught in Bao Thuan have been sold to Saigon by local people; especially concentrated at Binh Dien wholesale market. There are tycoons who have opened seafood warehouses at Binh Dien market, then brought their whole families to trade, opening more and more seafood warehouses. They set up business in Saigon and go back and forth. One scene, two hometowns. Binh Dien market has long been the main seafood consumption hub of Bao Thuan. Of the 122 fishing boats, 36 are offshore fishing boats. A boss can own many fishing boats. That is also a strong resource to attract capital for reinvestment locally.

On the last afternoons of the year, darkness falls as quickly as a "witch" throwing a black cloak into the deep. The fishing village sinks into the night to regenerate energy. Then the dawn appears, stirring up the bustling rhythm of life. Idle boats are surfing the waves to reach the shore in time for the early market. Transport vehicles are busy turning back towards Saigon. Tourist groups arrive one after another. The docks and boats are bustling. When the sky is clear and the view is wide, standing on the sea dike, people suddenly recognize the clear shape of the strip of land of the Coconut Island. Looking out to sea, on the right is the green strip of Thanh Phu district separated by the Ham Luong estuary; on the left is Binh Dai district located along the slope of the Ba Lai estuary. Bao Thuan commune and Tiem Tom town are the bottom edge of the triangle of the Cuu Long estuary. The strips of land on both sides of Thanh Phu and Binh Dai stretch out to the sea as if two arms outstretched to welcome the coastal city of the not-too-distant future. It is the aspiration to reach out to the East that a large-scale coastal road connecting the Mekong Delta will become the driving force for the development of the whole region. It is the crossroads of time in the first half of the 21st century and it will be the road to awaken the mindset of getting rich by exploiting the "ore seam" of indigenous resources. This year's monsoon season is very abundant, fueling the aspiration to build a modern coastal city on Ba Tri land.

“In the near future, the commune will call for investment in tourism development, focusing on attracting investors with capital and technology capacity to create a breakthrough in seafood processing. Bao Thuan will focus on exploiting local raw materials, expanding offshore fishing, and high-tech shrimp farming. Actively build new rural criteria, focus on investing in transportation, electricity, water systems... to pave the way for investment projects that will be very busy this year and in the coming years.”

(Chairman of Bao Thuan Commune People's Committee Le Van Vu Thanh)

Kim Lien

Source: https://baodongkhoi.vn/kinh-te/thuong-mai/thanh-pho-bien-trong-tam-tay-a141328.html