Quang Ninh (VNA) - The northern province of Quang Ninh hasenvisioned turning the Van Don special administrative-economic zone into asmart and green island urban area, according to Secretary of the provincialParty Committee Nguyen Van Doc.

The special administrative-economic zone is located in Van Don district, whichhas a total land area of 581.13 sq.km and sea area of 1,620 sq.km with apopulation of over 46,000.

Thedistrict has a politically and economically important position as it lies onthe strategic transit route from East Asia to Southeast Asia and from ASEAN toChina, in Vietnam-China “two corridors, one belt” cooperation area, inNanning-Singapore economic corridor, and in the extended Tonkin Gulfinter-regional cooperation area.

Van Don is one of the three special administrative-economic zones designated bya Government-approved plan; the other two are Van Phong in the central provinceof Khanh Hoa and Phu Quoc in the southern province of Kien Giang. The zones willpilot key new economic and administrative policies before they are appliednationwide to develop the maritime economy.

Quang Ninh is working on a master plan of and a law on Van Don specialadministrative economic zone, guided by the aim to build Van Don into a dynamiceconomic centre with focus on services, high-end tourism and high-tech industries.The zone is expected to become a centre for startups, innovation andinternational trade.

The zone will apply an environmentally-friendly development model with a streamlinedadministrative apparatus and competitive policies in order to tap the local distinctivepotentials to the fullest extent and to attract investment and talent.

The modern zone is expected to spearhead the province’s growth, consolidatingQuang Ninh’s position as a leading economy in the northern region whileensuring national defence and security.

Themaster plan of Van Don will define the local advantages with a view topinpointing goals and priorities for development, draft a long-term developmentstrategy for the zone and propose management model and apparatus.

The province organised a conference to collect advice from the Association ofVietnamese Scientists and Experts (AVSE) in France on the master plan andinvited Kien Giang and Khanh Hoa provinces to a workshop on the special administrative-economiczone master plan.

Secretary Nguyen Van Doc stressed that the province hopes to put forwardunprecedented mechanisms and policies for the zone to give it competition edgeinternationally.

He said that the province will hire foreign consultants to draw up socio-economicdevelopment plans for the zone and revise the blueprint for Van Don economiczone to suit the new status as a special administrative-economic zone asdirected by the Politburo at Conclusion No.21-TB/TW on March 22, 2017.

A line-up of domestic giant groups like Sungroup and FLC have been pouringinvestment in Van Don district, including Van Don International Airport, VanDon luxury resort-entertainment complex with casino and many other high-endresorts.

The master plan of and law on the Van Dong special administrative economic zoneare scheduled to be submitted to the National Assembly’s fourth meeting inOctober for consideration.-VNA