HCMCity (VNS/VNA) - Weak regional connectivity across land, air andsea has hampered the growth of the southeastern region of Vietnam. Economistsbelieve for the region to develop, it needs to change its mind set andstrategy.

EconomistTran Dinh Thien, member of the Economic Advisory Team of Prime Minister NguyenXuan Phuc, made the remarks during a conference on transport infrastructureconnection in the region.

ComprisingHo Chi Minh City and the six provinces of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Nai, Binh Duong,Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, and Binh Thuan, the region covers 31,300sq.km and has apopulation of 19.6 million.

Borderingthe East Sea, the region is rich in resources and enjoys favourable climate conditions,making it the country’s most economically developed region.

Thiensaid the Party has paid significant attention to the development of thesoutheastern region, especially HCM City, which has helped to maintain theregion’s lead in national GDP shares (50.8 percent), State budgetcontributions, and other economic factors.

However,its ‘driver of growth’ status is under threat as the GDP growth in 2016-18reached 6.72 percent against the 9.08 percent growth of the Northern Key EconomicZone, he remarked, attributing to weak connectivity between areas in theregion, while ring roads and highways are insufficient or slow to implement.

Ifimportant projects like soon-to-be underway Long Thanh International Airport inDong Nai or the upgrading of Cai Mep-Thi Vai port suffer setbacks and delays,the impact would be felt on a national scale.

Thienstressed that transport is a “severe bottleneck” of the southeastern region –the Southern Key Economic Zone only has 91km of highway (11 percent of thecountry’s total), Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City isincreasingly overloaded, and Cai Mep-Thi Vai sea terminal is currentlyoperating over capacity while a synchronous system of roads and railwaysleading to and from the terminal is lacking.

Heproposed the region receive a prioritised budget as well as “vanguard”development mechanisms to become a “modern locomotive” unleashing its fullpotential.

Thevision of a synchronous development between air, road, rail and sea needing tobe a well-oiled cooperation between the State and local administrations are notnew ideas, but must be thoroughly implemented, Thien said.

Theexpert said he has floated the idea of direct monetary rewards for businessesthat implement well infrastructure projects in the region based on the“benefits brought to the country” and its leadership.

Inthe northern region, the investment to infrastructure is mostly sourced fromthe State budget, but the benefits the southeastern region can bring arestill huge, mechanisms are needed to entice private businesses – especiallyencouraging Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, according to Thien.

NguyenDuc Kien, deputy chair of National Assembly’s Economic Committee, said PM Phuchimself has noted the lack of connectivity in the region which lead to threetrips to the area in a year, plus several other meetings and resolutions toboost the development here – especially repeatedly urging the completion ofland clearance of the Long Thanh International Airport project so thatconstruction could start on time.

Whileexperts at the conference agreed that localities have been proactive in seekingdiverse investment sources for intra-provincial and inter-regional transportsystems for development given the constrained State budget.

BinhDuong province, for example, has called for capitals both inside and outsidethe province to invest in its infrastructure, becoming the first locality inthe country to implement the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model in transportand achieve unexpected success.

Similarundertakings have also been done in Dong Nai, resulting in much “brighterpicture” of transport in the province.

Kien,however, opined that the action plans of the localities in the region lackcohesion and coordination, and suffer from a clear “commander role.”

TranHoang Ngan, Director of the Institute for Development Research of HCM City,also pointed out that the awareness of the benefits of transport infrastructureconnectivity seems to be lacking, and are still limited to an individualprovince or city.

Ashared database that the entire region can make use of has not been set up ,and regional common infrastructure is not available due to the lack ofappropriate mechanisms and consensus, Ngan said, adding that the interestsbetween localities in the whole region have not been “harmonised”.

Heurged the Government to authorise local governments – especially HCM City, BinhDuong, Dong Nai, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau – to decide matters related to keyprojects in their jurisdiction.

NguyenDanh Huy, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment under theMinistry of Transport, stated the implementation of infrastructure projects inthe region is “too slow.”

Thereare 11 highways planned for the region, with a total length of 970km, Huy said.

Accordingto the plan to 2020, 497km will be operational but currently only 122km havebeen put into use, while another 278km are still being built.

Airway-wise,by 2030, the southeast region will have three international airports – TanSon Nhat, Long Thanh, and Con Dao – with total capacity of 103 millionpassengers a year, with Tan Son Nhat and Long Thanh shouldering about 50million each.

TheMinistry of Transport has submitted to the Government a proposed project onregional transport infrastructure connectivity for the southeastern regionworth 54 trillion VND, which will require some deliberations as to thecoordination between public and private sources for these estimated capital,Huy said./.