Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Many provinces and cities have licensed projects worthbillions of US dollars through their investment forums this year. But expertssaid the key issue remains how to push these projects from the planning to theaction stage.

Sixty-sixprojects worth nearly 169 trillion VND (7.24 billion USD) were grantedinvestment registration certificates at an investment promotion conference inthe central province of Quang Binh on August 27-28.

Earlythis month, the Can Tho City People’s Committee awarded investment certificatesfor 10 projects with committed capital of about 8 trillion VND (343 millionUSD) and inked cooperation agreements with other investors with totalinvestment capital of 85 trillion VND (3.64 billion USD).

Alsoat an investment conference in mid-June, Hanoi successfully sought investmentfor 71 projects worth over 397.3 trillion VND (roughly 17 billion USD), ofwhich 11 projects had foreign direct investment capital of 130 trillion VND (5.4billion USD).

Manyinvestors committed investment capital of hundreds of millions to billions ofdollars, including a mega smart city project worth 4 billion USD in Dong Anh district,Hanoi, with investment by joint venture between Vietnamese BRG Group andJapanese Sumitomo, and 600 million USD high-end complex Lotte Mall Hanoi project.

Atan investment conference in Bac Lieu province early thisyear, investors registered projects worth a total of 110 trillion VND (4.71billion USD), of which renewable energy development projects accounted for 81trillion (3.47 billion USD).

Themost prominent project was the solar power plant invested by the Republic ofKorean’s SY Panel Group with total investment of over 10.2 trillion VND (450million USD). This is the biggest solar energy project in Vietnam so farwith total capacity of 300MW.

Similarevents in other provinces also recorded a large amount of committed investmentcapital such as Soc Trang (5.4 billion USD), Thai Nguyen (2 billion USD), BinhPhuoc (nearly 1 billion USD) and Tien Giang (685 million USD).

Atmost investment forums, a lot of big projects have been signed but manyprojects are moving slowly and licences or permits are being revoked.

Earlierthis year, Nghe An had a meeting with investors and granted investmentcertificates for 26 projects worth over 13 trillion VND (557 million USD).After the meeting, the provincial leaders have pushed investors to startconstruction no later than June 20. However, apart from the 1-billion USD Hermaraj IndustrialPark project, many projects still exist only on paper.

Theprovince also has a billion-dollar slow-moving project, the Kobelco steelproject, which was licensed in 2010. Construction on the first plant was slatedto start in early 2011, but to date, this project has yet to be put intoaction.

Accordingto Dau Anh Tuan, head of the Legal Department of the Vietnam Chamber ofCommerce and Industry, the scramble for foreign investment in many provinces isstill influenced by local authorities’ hope that they can trumpet success inattracting foreign dollars - meaning they’re less concerned with whether thosedollars materialise into broken ground.

“Inattracting investment, the role of the local authority is very enormous, if notthe most important,” Tuan said and suggested the provincial authority changethe structure of investment promotion activities, focusing on the quality ofprojects and investors rather than massive large-scale projects.

PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the investment forum in Binh Phuoc this year alsosaid: “Over 1 billion USD was signed at the event. That is impressive, but thelicences must go into action. Do not let the projects and licences live only onpaper.”

Accordingto Phan Huu Thang, former director of the Foreign Investment Agency under theMinistry of Planning and Investment, after investors registered the project,the local authority has to scrutinise their real capability, as well as overseethe implementation process. Strong measures such as revoking licences are alsonecessary if the projects are slow moving.-VNS/VNA