From a locality mainly engaged in small-scale coastal exploitation, Nghe An is reshaping its development space towards modernity, integrating logistics, industry and tourism.
Nghe An beach tourism, "fairy" wakes up
Every summer, Cua Lo beach - the "heart" of tourism in Nghe land - is bustling with millions of visitors. But the summer of 2026 brings a different face: not only crowded but also neat, methodical and more organized than ever.
Along Binh Minh street, new coconut trees are planted straight, drawing a green landscape stretching along the coast. The lighting system has been upgraded, many sections are arranged with artistic lights, turning the coastal city at night into a shimmering picture, attracting tourists to stroll and check-in. Inner city roads are newly asphalted, sidewalks are synchronously upgraded, completely eliminating the feeling of shabbiness and disorder of previous years.
On the beach, the change is even more obvious. Large-scale public bathing spots are built spaciously and cleanly; sand is regularly filtered by machinery; waste is collected in time, not left behind. Early in the morning, groups of environmental workers work continuously, returning the sea to its pureness before welcoming guests. During the day, the beach is bustling with people bathing and playing; in the late afternoon, the space moves to a relaxing, peaceful rhythm of life with cool strides, enjoying fresh seafood.
According to the Nghe An Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, this summer, Cua Lo will for the first time organize a Tourism Festival with the theme "Four seasons of sea calling", aiming to create a highlight to attract tourists and gradually move towards year-round tourism development. The event is well-organized with many large-scale activities: Food festival, OCOP product display, sea sports tournaments, unique art programs... Through this, Cua Lo tourism is gradually diversifying products, extending the length of stay of tourists.
Not only stopping at infrastructure, Nghe An is "awakening" Cua Lo with a completely new development mindset. From cuisine, sea sports, to cultural - entertainment and tourism activities, Cua Lo has begun to escape the monotonous "bathing in the sea - eating seafood" model that has lasted for many years.
The expansion of tourism space to Hon Ngu Island, along the coastal route, fishing villages... shows a clear direction: building a diverse and unique experience ecosystem. Nghe An beach tourism is no longer just based on natural resources, but is transforming to create true service values.
The big road has opened
If tourism is the tip of the iceberg, then seaport infrastructure and the new industrial platform are the solid backbone for Nghe An's marine economy. The Cua Lo Deep-Water Port project with a total investment of about 9,000 billion VND, capable of receiving ships from 50,000 to 100,000 DWT, started at the end of 2025, is expected to become the logistics nucleus of the entire North Central region. When completed, the port will synchronously connect with the strategic transportation system: North-South expressway, National Highway 1A, coastal road, Vinh airport and East-West economic corridor.
This means that Nghe An is no longer just a simple domestic destination, but can completely rise to become an international trade gateway, connecting Laos, Northeast Thailand and Myanmar to the open sea.
In parallel with that, the province is promoting the development of the Southeast Economic Zone, industrial parks such as VSIP, Hoang Mai... to create an industrial foundation closely linked to seaports. Large investment capital flows, especially in the energy sector, are opening up a new economic structure - where logistics, industry and marine services are linked into a unified whole.
In the overall picture, Nghe An has risen to the leading group in the country in attracting FDI in the first quarter of 2026, creating important momentum for long-term development goals. However, reality also reveals no small challenges: slow progress in site clearance, limited clean land funds, and uneven investment capital absorption capacity between regions.
Aspiration from the sea
Sharing about development orientations, Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee Vo Trong Hai emphasized: the province identifies the marine economy as one of the important pillars, which needs to be synchronously invested from infrastructure, investment attraction to improving service quality.
According to Mr. Vo Trong Hai, Nghe An will continue to improve the investment environment, accelerate site clearance, create clean land funds for large projects; and at the same time strongly develop marine economic sectors such as seaports, logistics, tourism, and coastal industry in a modern, sustainable and climate change-adapted direction. At the same time, the province pays special attention to building a friendly and civilized tourism image; improving the quality of human resources; strengthening regional linkages to expand development space, avoiding fragmentation and localism.
From the stretches of golden sunshine beaches to the large-scale infrastructure projects that are gradually appearing, Nghe An is gradually realizing a true aspiration: reaching out to the vast ocean, not only with natural resources, but more importantly, with a new development mindset - a mindset of proactiveness, creativity and a desire to break through.
