Quang Tri’s Lao Bao-Densavan Zone: Boosting Cross-Border Trade and Investment

Quang Tri Industrial Park (IP) is a joint venture of three leading developers in Vietnam, including Vietnam-Singapore IP Joint Venture Company (VSIP), Amata Bien Hoa, and Sumitomo Group (Japan). It spans 481.2 hectares in Hai Lang District.

Deputy Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee Ha Sy Dong presents the memorandum of understanding to the secondary investor - Photo: Ha Trang

Inaugurated on December 15, 2023, Quang Tri IP specializes in developing infrastructure and facilities.

It is scheduled to hand over land to secondary investors to build factories and production facilities by the end of 2024.The IP is designed with beautiful landscapes, a high greenery ratio, and a modern road system, in addition to synchronized, modern infrastructure and facilities.

It prioritizes attracting industries that utilize advanced technology and are environmentally friendly, such as textile and garment, footwear, packaging and printing, wood processing and furniture, food and beverages, electronics, and electrical appliances.

Currently, the province is expanding cooperation with provinces in Laos through the international border gates of Lao Bao and La Lay.Once the construction of National Highway 15D connecting My Thuy Port through Quang Tri IP to the La Lay International Border Gate and the Cam Lo-Lao Bao Expressway are completed, the Lao Bao-Densavan Joint Cross-Border Economic and Trade Zone will be operational, boosting the attractiveness for foreign investors to come to Quang Tri Province, especially creating linkages among IPs, economic clusters, and the dynamic economic regions of the province.

In the southern gateway of Quang Tri Province, Quang Tri IP aims to become a new production hub in the North Central Coast region. Meanwhile, with its location on the western side of the province, the Lao Bao-Densavan Cross-Border Economic and Trade Zone will serve as a crucial connection on the East-West Economic Corridor, supporting the province in realizing its mutual development purposes.

In the future, businesses investing in Quang Tri IP may expand their investments to branches, distribution warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and processing facilities in the Lao Bao-Densavan Cross-Border Economic and Trade Zone, where local authorities offer incentives much better than those provided by Vietnamese law and the benefits of Certificate of Origin (C/O) from Laos when exporting to the EU and the US.

However, provincial authorities must address existing issues to attract investors in Quang Tri IP and the Lao Bao-Densavan Cross-Border Economic and Trade Zone.It is necessary to build up a common legal framework for the cross-border economic and trade zone, simplify procedures, modernize management processes, including investment approval and work permits for foreigners, and eliminate unnecessary import and export licenses.

Provincial authorities must provide investors with special tax incentives while considering applying smart customs-border connectivity models to facilitate the flow of trade, tourism, and cross-border transportation quickly and effectively.

This is an essential part of creating attractiveness for the border region.Comprehensive cooperation activities should be expanded alongside cross-border trade, services, and investment, including the development of training centers, retail, and finance, to make the Lao Bao-Densavan Cross-Border Economic and Trade Zone a logistics hub and a major goods transshipment center along the East-West Economic Corridor.

Tax-free zones and large bonded warehouses will be established for storage, packaging, and classification of goods as a distribution network in the expanded Mekong sub-region, from Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos to Vietnam, connecting with China via the Vientiane-Botenhigh-speed railway to My Thuy Port, and Danang International Port.

Goods will be transported along the East-West Economic Corridor for export to other countries and territories, thereby creating mutual support and promoting the socio-economic development of Quang Tri and Savannakhet provinces and the Lao Bao-Densavan Cross-Border Economic and Trade Zone.

As the Lao Bao-Densavan Cross-Border Economic and Trade Zone is formed and linked with Quang Tri IP, it will become a model cross-border economic and trade zone between Vietnam and Laos, contributing to the overall prosperity of both countries and the region.

Tan Nguyen-Khanh Khanh