Quang Ninh (VNA) - The northern coastal province of QuangNinh has been working to mobilise resources for the building of a blueprint onthe establishment of the Van Don Special Administrative-Economic Zone.

At a working session in late April with a delegation of theNational Assembly on the blueprint, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’sCommittee Nguyen Van Thanh said the province began research for the project in2012. Many workshops have been held to collect recommendations from experts,policy makers and scientists.

Quang Ninh also received permission from the Prime Ministerto hire foreign consulting companies for drafting the master plan forsocio-economic development of Van Don and the overall construction planning forthe area in the direction of a special administrative-economic unit.

The province mobilised 57.6 trillion VND to invest ininfrastructure in Van Don district, creating an impetus for the area’sdevelopment. Of the amount, 70 percent came from social sources.

A series of key transport projects are scheduled to completethis year, including the Van Don airport, the Ha Long-Hai Phong and Ha Long-VanDon highways. Vice Chairman Thanh said the provincial administration hasinstructed its agencies to strengthen management of land and property toprevent the illegal use and trading of land and assets in Van Don district.

Van Don district will be one of the first three specialadministrative-economic zones in Vietnam. The others are Bac Van Phong incentral Khanh Hoa province and Phu Quoc in southern Kien Giang province.

The National Assembly is expected to pass the Law on SpecialAdministrative Economic Zones at its upcoming session. Once the law isreleased, the general socio-economic planning and construction of Van Doneconomic zone will be adjusted to fit its status as a specialadministrative-economic zone.- VNA