Promoting economic development of Thanh Thuy International Border Gate

Import and export activities of goods through Thanh Thuy International Border Gate.

However, difficulties and limitations in infrastructure, investment policies and land planning are still barriers preventing the economic zone from fully exploiting its potential.

After its establishment, Thanh Thuy Border Gate Economic Zone has been focused on allocating resources to invest in developing infrastructure in the central area of Thanh Thuy commune with an area of over 100 hectares. Up to now, about 600 billion VND has been invested in site clearance, construction of roads, electricity systems, functional houses, and wharves in the economic zone.

Currently, two key projects are being implemented with a total investment of hundreds of billions of VND, including the project to build an inter-sectoral control station and the project to build a road connecting National Highway 2 to the Na La border trade area. These are strategic projects, helping to improve customs clearance capacity and improve transport infrastructure serving import and export activities.

After many years of investment, the infrastructure in the economic zone basically meets the needs of import and export activities; immigration and export, especially attracting the attention of businesses. The economic zone has attracted more than 40 investment projects, with a total registered capital of more than 1,220 billion VND, mainly focusing on the fields of import and export services and warehouse services.

Mr. Hoang A Chinh, Head of the Management Board of Ha Giang Economic Zone, Tuyen Quang Province said: "Currently, the capacity of the economic zone can meet the import and export activities of 100 to 200 container trucks of goods through Thanh Thuy International Border Gate every day. This is the result of systematic investment in infrastructure in recent times."

In addition, the authorities at Thanh Thuy International Border Gate have also actively improved the procedure handling process, applying information technology in the entire document processing process. All import and export procedures are now implemented online. Thereby, reducing time, effort and costs for businesses exporting and importing goods.

Thanks to synchronous solutions, import and export activities at Thanh Thuy International Border Gate are increasingly vibrant. In the first 6 months of 2025, the total import and export turnover reached more than 312 million USD, an increase of 132% over the same period in 2024; more than 11,000 people and nearly 7,000 vehicles entered and exited through the border gate. The total tax revenue paid to the budget was more than 145 billion VND, an increase of about 25% over the same period in 2024...

Despite achieving positive results, the operation of Thanh Thuy Border Gate Economic Zone has not been as expected. One of the major reasons is that investment resources for infrastructure are still limited, not meeting the needs of synchronous development. Many areas in the economic zone planning still do not have detailed planning or have not been cleared due to lack of capital, leading to the almost exhausted clean land fund, especially land to attract large projects.

Geographical location is also a limiting factor in the development of border gate economy. According to Mr. Hoang A Chinh, Thanh Thuy International Border Gate has no comparative advantage compared to other major border gates in the region. The current traffic connection from Hanoi to the border gate is only National Highway 2, which is both small and far away, making it difficult to attract businesses to participate in import and export activities. The invested projects are mainly small-scale warehouse services, there are no key projects with large spillover effects. The lack of specific incentive mechanisms on land, finance and tax leads to difficulties in attracting investment.

Given this situation, local authorities are also making efforts to remove difficulties to create momentum for economic development at border gates. In particular, improving transport infrastructure connectivity is identified as a key solution. Notably, the Tuyen Quang-Ha Giang expressway project (connected to the Tuyen Quang-Phu Tho expressway) started construction in May 2023 and is expected to be completed in 2025. When completed, this expressway will help reduce the load on National Highway 2, shorten travel time from the border gate to major economic centers, and facilitate the circulation of goods.

The province is also building a bridge from National Highway 2 to the east bank of the Lo River, in Pha Han village (Thanh Thuy commune), and implementing a zoning plan to expand land funds in the economic zone. These solutions will create conditions to attract large investment projects with high added value, thereby improving land use efficiency and contributing to the budget.

Regarding policies, departments and branches have researched and proposed specific policies to attract investment and create a transparent and open investment environment. Along with that, the promotion and introduction of the potential and strengths of the economic zone are being promoted to attract the attention of domestic and foreign investors.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Quynh, Deputy Head of Thanh Thuy International Border Gate Customs, in previous years, the province's Import-Export Association was established. However, this association is currently not operating effectively. Therefore, in the coming time, the province needs to pay attention to maintaining the activities of the Import-Export Association to act as a focal point for exchanging information with Chinese import-export enterprises so that domestic enterprises can grasp information promptly and be proactive in import-export activities.

Article and photos: KHANH TOAN and HAI CHUNG

Source: https://nhandan.vn/thuc-day-kinh-te-cua-khau-quoc-te-thanh-thuy-phat-trien-post894701.html