Great expectations of the people
Recently, the Executive Committee of the Hung Yen Provincial Party Committee unanimously approved the Project on establishing Hung Yen Free Economic Zone to report to the Government Party Committee to submit to the Politburo for consideration and decision. This is considered a strategic step, not only expanding the development space but also showing a strong transformation in the local economic thinking after the merger.
The project is built on the basis of development from Thai Binh Economic Zone, with an current area of about 30,583ha, while researching to expand to the West about 13,000ha and land reclamation to the East about 17,000ha. This space is expected to be divided into 3 development zones, aiming to form a multi-functional complex, including research centers, high-tech application, modern industry, new energy, logistics services, seaports, airports and resort and entertainment cities.
For people in coastal areas - places that were once associated with agriculture and seafood exploitation, these changes are not just a story of planning on paper but have been and are clearly impacting daily life.
Fisherman Trinh Quang Vinh (residence group No. 6, Thai Thuy commune) slowly recounts the years of making a living floating at sea. Many generations of his family have been attached to fishing, income is precarious, depending on weather and seasons. "In the past, going to sea was the main thing, but not always there were fish or shrimp. I don't have another job, and I'm less educated, so I don't know what else to do. There are not many jobs to choose from around here," Mr. Vinh said.
When the Thai Binh Economic Zone was formed, factories and workshops gradually sprang up, leading to increased labor demand. His family's children and grandchildren began to have other choices besides the sea profession. Some people switched to working in businesses, with more stable incomes.
Seeing my children and grandchildren have jobs near home, not having to go far, life is less hard, I am also happy. Now hearing that there will be a free economic zone, even larger in scale, I hope for even more opportunities" - Mr. Vinh shared.
In a corner of Tan Son fishing port, Mr. Ta Duy Hieu (Thuy Hai village, Thai Thuy commune) pointed to the boat anchorage area, his eyes full of expectations about the changes being mentioned from the Hung Yen Free Economic Zone project.
Having been attached to the fishing profession for many years, Mr. Hieu still regularly goes out to sea with his boat to catch seafood. The work is heavy, heavily dependent on the weather and water, sometimes with a good harvest, sometimes with a bad harvest, life is therefore also not uncertain. However, for him, the sea is still the main livelihood, the place to support his family through many years.
In recent days, when information about the construction of a Free Economic Zone project has been mentioned more, coastal people like him have also begun to have more hope for a different future for their homeland.
With more businesses and more development, people like me also want more opportunities, not just completely dependent on the fishing industry as before," Mr. Hieu shared, his eyes still looking towards Tan Son fishing port, where fishing boats have just returned from a long sea trip.
Global competitive leverage
One of the notable points of the Hung Yen Free Economic Zone Project is the approach in building mechanisms and policies. According to Vice Chairman of Hung Yen Provincial People's Committee Le Quang Hoa, the project is designed in the spirit of taking the needs and barriers of investors as the center.
Instead of focusing on traditional tax and fee incentives, the province aims to create a truly favorable, effective and competitive investment and business environment at the international level. Policies are built in accordance with the development orientation of space and industries, ensuring synchronicity and feasibility.
The province proposes that competent authorities issue 12 groups, with 31 mechanisms and policies; including some of Vietnam's best policies today and 13 breakthrough policies according to international standards" - Mr. Le Quang Hoa informed.
Accordingly, Hung Yen Free Economic Zone is oriented to become an economic zone with a high level of "freedom", based on 4 main pillars: freedom in business; freedom in capital circulation; attracting and developing talents; and freedom in governance. These are core factors to create a flexible, dynamic and attractive development environment for domestic and foreign investors.
Assessing this project, Mr. Nguyen Duc Hien - Deputy Head of the Central Policy and Strategy Committee - said that Hung Yen province has prepared carefully and seriously, providing sufficient scientific and practical arguments. However, this is a new model, without precedent, so it is necessary to have specific and superior mechanisms compared to current regulations to ensure feasibility.
He also emphasized that the establishment of Hung Yen Free Economic Zone is not only a local story but also meaningful for the whole country, especially in finding new development models suitable for the context of deep integration.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Phan Duc Hieu - Member of the National Assembly's Economic and Finance Committee - highly appreciated Hung Yen's proactiveness and pioneering role in building the project. According to him, in the context of the high growth target being clearly defined, the locality's bold proposal of a new model is a positive step, demonstrating the concretization of the Party's major policies.
From a long-term perspective, Hung Yen Free Economic Zone is expected to become one of the leading open, dynamic and investor-friendly economic zones in Asia. At the same time, this could also be a policy "laboratory" - a place to test new governance models, creating a premise for future expansion.
