Ba Ria - Vung Tau: Heading towards the goal of becoming a national marine economic center

"Building Ba Ria - Vung Tau province comprehensively, becoming one of the important driving forces for development in the Southeast region, being the national marine economic center and among the top 05 localities in terms of marine economic development nationwide..." This is one of the contents of the "General Objectives" in the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial Planning for the period 2021-2030, vision to 2050 just approved by the Prime Minister (Decision No. 1629/QD-TTg dated December 16, 2023).

Ba Ria - Vung Tau (BRVT) has over 305 km of coastline, a continental shelf of 100,000 km² with abundant marine resources, especially the largest reserves of oil and gas in the country... With such potential, BRVT has many advantages to develop the marine economy with activities such as oil and gas exploitation, tourism, aquaculture, and port services, logistics...

That is the potential, the marine reserve of BRVT in the development process. BRVT identifies on the spirit of "Marine resources and islands must be uniformly managed according to the strategy of sustainable resource exploitation and environmental protection of the marine and island environment; planning, plans for marine use; overall planning for sustainable resource exploitation in coastal areas; protecting national sovereignty, ensuring national defense, security" (Article 1, Article 4, Law on Marine and Island Resources and Environment).

After the plenary session (12th term) issued Resolution No. 36-NQ/TW on "Vietnam's Sea Strategy to 2030 and Vision to 2045", the BRVT Provincial Party Committee has implemented with the consistent spirit of "Sustainable development of the marine economy based on green growth".

On October 7, 2022, the Politburo issued Resolution No. 24-NQ/TW on socio-economic development and ensuring defense and security in the Southeast region to 2030, vision to 2045, continuing to identify: "Developing Ba Ria - Vung Tau province into a national marine economic center, including both tourism seaports and types of ecological tourism, resorts, culture, sports, high-quality entertainment services".

In implementing that goal, the BRVT Provincial People's Committee has directed departments, agencies, and localities to focus on exploiting and utilizing advantages in coastal proximity and abundant marine resources to build logistics service centers, develop a strong system of seaports. BRVT has also promoted the development of tourism services with diverse and rich marine tourism types... Moreover, focusing on implementing many solutions for effective management and exploitation of marine resources. At the same time, allocating many resources for investment, vigorously attracting large projects, contributing to the development of the marine economy as a spearhead sector, developing sustainably.

BRVT identifies "Key focal points, concentrating investment in economic pillars, breakthrough development, forming dynamic economic axes in functional areas, creating harmonious development spillover effects among regions within the province," (Decision No. 1629/QD-TTg dated December 16, 2023 of the Prime Minister).

From having only a few specialized ports serving the oil and seafood industries, BRVT has gradually developed and shaped a comprehensive port system planned as nationally significant ports. The Cai Mep - Thi Vai port alone has 22 projects in operation, with a total length of wharfs in the Cai Mep - Thi Vai area reaching 9,947m. By the end of December 2020, Cai Mep - Thi Vai had 7 container port projects in operation, with a designed capacity of 6.8 million TEUs per year.

To leverage the port system, BRVT has long mobilized investment capital to develop synchronized transportation infrastructure linked with provinces in the Key Southern Economic Region, primarily in the Southeast region. At the same time, to exploit the port system, BRVT has planned and built a system of industrial zones linked with seaports. Many large projects associated with the sea have been implemented, including: LNG terminal and natural gas re-gasification project in Vung Tau worth 6,500 billion VND (commenced since October 2019); Southern Oil Refinery Complex worth 5.1 billion USD (invested by SCG Group Thailand, approved and currently being implemented).

Additionally, the fishing and seafood processing industry is also one of the strengths in the marine economic development of BRVT. With 5 out of 8 coastal districts and towns and a relatively large number of fishing boats, in recent years, BRVT has focused on investing in the development and upgrading of the fishing port system within its jurisdiction.

Regarding marine tourism, there are 3 famous coastal tourist areas in the province, attracting millions of domestic and international tourists each year, namely Vung Tau, Long Hai, and Con Dao. Especially, Con Dao with the advantage of being an island with an ecosystem that still retains its natural, pristine beauty and has a rich revolutionary history. Therefore, BRVT has been mobilizing resources to develop Con Dao into an outstanding national tourist destination with regional and international stature.

Accordingly, BRVT will develop and implement a development strategy, positioning the provincial tourism brand towards enhancing quality on the domestic and international tourism map; focus on investing in multi-modal transportation infrastructure, interregional and interregional connectivity, forming a logistics ecosystem to truly transform the Cai Mep - Thi Vai port cluster into an international cargo transshipment port; research and implement the attraction of investment in specialized international passenger ports to create new impetus for tourism development.

In order to achieve "economic development harmonized with progress, social justice, improving people's quality of life, and protecting the environment, efficiently managing and utilizing resources, adapting to climate change and rising sea levels," BRVT province always identifies sustainable development of the marine economy based on the management, protection, exploitation, and rational, effective, and sustainable use of marine and island resources according to strategies, planning, and plans to serve socio-economic development, national sovereignty protection, defense, and security.

BRVT will also enhance environmental protection, sustainable conservation and development of marine biodiversity; proactively respond to climate change, rising sea levels, and natural disaster prevention and mitigation; mobilize resources, encourage economic entities to invest in sustainable marine development; ensure defense, security, and expand international cooperation.

The general spirit of BRVT is to develop the marine economy based on sustainable development, protect marine ecosystems, comply with international standards; control sustainable exploitation of marine resources, especially prioritizing the restoration of depleted marine ecosystems, along with promoting marine biodiversity. At the same time, it is necessary to enhance forecasting capacity, warning of natural disasters, earthquakes, tsunamis, climate change, rising sea levels; prevent, control, and significantly reduce marine environmental pollution; localities initiate campaigns to minimize ocean plastic waste.