The important results achieved in all fields have been creating motivation and resources to open a new development period for Quang Ngai, in the process of integration and development.
Immediately after the Politburo's Resolution No. 26-NQ/TW, on socio-economic development and ensuring national defence and security in the North Central and Central Coast regions to 2030, a vision for 2045 was promulgated, the Party Committee of Quang Ngai Province has actively researched and implemented solutions, determined to turn the province into a national energy centre, with sea and island tourism in the spirit of the Resolution.
Two highlights in economic development
After more than 20 years of implementing Resolution No.39-NQ/TW of the 9th Politburo, on socio-economic development and ensuring national defence and security in the North Central and Central Coast regions by 2010 and Conclusion No. 25-KL/TW of the Politburo, on continuing to implement Resolution No.39-NQ/TW, from a province with a small economic scale, Quang Ngai province has become a bright spot in the region.
The average economic growth rate of the province in the 2005-2021 period reached 10.92%/year. The economic structure has shifted towards industrialisation, and the proportion of industrial construction and services has increased. Various types of services have developed. In 2022, the province's GRDP growth rate reached 8.08%; GRDP per capita was estimated at 3,907 USD/person/year.
Contributing to these results are two areas, strengths that are focused on leading and directing development by the province, namely Dung Quat Economic Zone and sea and island tourism. Dung Quat economic zone is a general, multi-sector and multi-field economic zone. There is a national centre of petrochemical refining, energy, and mechanical metallurgy and a large logistics centre of the region, to promote and effectively exploit Dung Quat deep-water port and Chu Lai airport, which are transport hubs for goods and important international trade in the central region and the Central Highlands.
After 26 years of establishment and development, Dung Quat Economic Zone has attracted nearly 18 billion USD of registered investment capital, of which there are 249 active projects with implemented capital of about 9.7 billion USD. The outstanding development of the Dung Quat Economic Zone, which is evaluated by economic experts and managers as one of the pioneers and successful economic zones of the country, an industrial production centre and a driving force for the socio-economic development of Quang Ngai province, as well as the central key economic region.
In the 2010-2022 period, Dung Quat Economic Zone contributed remarkably to the state budget, accounting for about 80% of the total provincial budget revenue, contributing to making Quang Ngai province become a locality with a large revenue source of the whole country, with a large scale economy of 121.6 trillion VND, ranked 2nd among the 5 provinces in the central key economic region; ranked 4th among 14 provinces in the North Central and Central Coast regions.
Regarding tourism, the Quang Ngai Provincial Party Committee issued and implemented thematic Resolution No.05-NQ/TU dated November 2, 2021, on promoting tourism development, gradually becoming a spearhead economic sector and the Project on developing Quang Ngai tourism to 2025, with orientation to 2030, identifying several key tasks, including strongly developing three main tourist product lines, namely sea and island tourism, cultural tourism, and ecological tourism.
In particular, sea and island tourism is identified as a key point in which Ly Son is the centre and key, becoming a famous attraction for domestic and international tourists. Not only being dubbed the "Garlic Kingdom", but Ly Son Island also contains a diverse and unique system of tangible and intangible cultural heritages. Thirty geological and cultural heritage sites intertwine and integrate each other to create a flow of history and culture on the island land, that continues from prehistoric times to modern times, without interruption and conservation seems to be intact.
There are also imprints of historical periods of protecting national sovereignty in the East Sea/South China Sea of Vietnam, as traces of Sa Huynh and Champa culture. Over the years, tourism has become a key industry of the Ly Son island district, with an average growth rate of 23.3% in the 2017-2020 period. Particularly in 2022, tourism accounted for nearly 50% of the total production value of economic sectors of the district.
Improving the efficiency of regional links
Despite many results, the economic development task of Quang Ngai province is still limited, and not commensurate with the potential and advantages; the scale of the marine economy is still small; the socio-economic infrastructure is not synchronous. Therefore, to continue to promote the best strengths, Resolution No.26-NQ/TW of the Politburo identifies two important tasks for the locality, which are to focus on expanding and building a refining and petrochemical centre and national energy in Dung Quat Economic Zone and develop Ly Son Island District into a centre of sea and island tourism.
Head of the Management Board of Dung Quat Economic Zone and Quang Ngai Industrial Zones, Ha Hoang Viet Phuong, said that the biggest obstacle now is the socio-technical infrastructure system, especially the traffic infrastructure that is not yet available to keep up with development needs, the container route has not yet been established at Dung Quat port; issues related to site clearance also need to be addressed to create a clean land fund to attract strategic investors.
According to the Secretary of Ly Son District Party Committee Nguyen Minh Tri, although there are impressive flourishes, Ly Son tourism is only in the spontaneous and primitive stage, the exploitation and basic development are still fragmented and lacking professionalism. The biggest difficulty of Ly Son today is that the technical infrastructure and types of services are still weak and lacking, so tourists can't stay for long; lack of a team of tourism professionals who specialise in culture and geology to help visitors discover the fascinating mysteries of the sacred island. Fresh water and the environment are issues that are posing great challenges.
To remove these obstacles, the Quang Ngai Provincial Party Committee has focused on directing the implementation of solutions to organise the effective implementation of approved master plans, such as the Quang Ngai Provincial Master Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050; adjust the general planning on construction of Dung Quat Economic Zone to 2045; national and regional plans; national and regional technical and specialised plannings.
For Dung Quat Economic Zone, the province is actively coordinating with central ministries and branches in implementing procedures to build a national centre for refining, petrochemical and energy. Coordinating in building a synchronous and modern regional transport infrastructure system with convenient intra-regional and inter-regional connections; synchronously connecting the transport system with coastal economic zones, industrial parks and airports and seaports; especially the north-south expressway in the East, passing through Quang Ngai Province to connect localities in the region.
Regarding sea and island tourism, the province has directed to prioritise investment promotion and construction of Ly Son international airport to serve tourism, and socio-economic development of Ly Son district and also ensure national defence and security, and protect national sovereignty over seas and islands. At the same time, the province continues to focus on the comprehensive and synchronous development of cultural fields, ensuring a harmonious connection between economic development, culture and society; ensuring social security and improving people's living standards.
According to Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, and Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Bui Thi Quynh Van, to help the locality perform two tasks set out by Resolution No.26-NQ/TW, in addition to efforts of the Party, administration and people in the province, the province also needs support from relevant agencies.
For the Central Government, it is necessary to perfect the association institution to ensure unity, effectiveness and efficiency; clear and specific regulations on the areas that need a coordination mechanism, as well as regulations on regional management organisations, especially on matters related to finance and budget; review and re-evaluate current policies, overcome the overlap between specialised laws leading to difficulties and confusion in the application process.
At the same time, it is necessary to orient the industry structure in attracting investment to coastal economic zones with a long-term vision, based on the comparative advantages of each economic zone, to promote investment efficiency and avoid waste of resources and competition among economic zones of localities in the region; as well as focus on investing in building breakthrough and pervasive infrastructure development projects and works, creating a driving force for the development of the region; and have preferential policies to promote the mobilisation of investment resources to perform tasks.
