The VNĐ1.8 trillion (US$77.6 million) MEATDeli Saigon Meat Processing Complex in Long An Province was commissioned this month by Masan MEATLife, a subsidiary of the Masan Group. The plant is situated in the Tan Duc Industrial Park in the Duc Hoa District and is expected to handle 140,000 tons of chilled pork and 15,000 tons of other items, such as braised pork, pork rolls and shredded pork in the first phase.

In the second process, production will be increased to 25,000 tons each year and 14,000 tonnes of pork by-products will be made, such as blood flour, plasma, collagen, and meat and bone powder. Its processing line was supplied by Dutch company Marel, the world leader in meat processing equipment, and includes an automation system with three robots. It is considered the most modern meat processing and slaughter facility in the country. The province has also seen several other big-ticket projects get under way in recent times. Đồng Tâm Group opened the first phase of the Long An International Port in Tân Tập Commune in the province’s Cần Giuộc District and at the same time began work on the second phase of the project. The 147ha port is being developed in three phases at a cost of nearly VNĐ10 trillion ($430.7 million). It will have seven wharves able to receive ships of up to 70,000DWT. More than 400,000sq.m is earmarked for warehouses to store farm produce, steel, fertilizers, and other products from the Mekong Delta. In Long An and the Mekong Delta, the port is seen as the gateway to reducing traffic congestion and logistical costs. In May, TIZCO Joint Stock Company and Viet Nam Innovation Parks Management Corporation broke ground for one of the largest IPs in the world, the 1,800ha Viet Phat Industrial Park.

According to provincial leaders, the series of major projects that have recently arrived in Long An, especially in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, are expected to contribute significantly to socio-economic growth and demonstrate the province's attractiveness to investors.. Trần Văn Cần, chairman of the province People’s Committee said with its location in a prime spot in the Southern Key Economic Region, Long An serves as a bridge between HCM City and the delta. In the 2016-20 period, it achieved annual growth of 9.11 percent on average, among the highest in the world, he said. Its economic system continues to change steadily towards industrialization and transformation, and VNĐ has reached 72.6 million ($3,130) per capita income, among the highest in the delta.

"The provincial government has determined that one of its key tasks is administrative reform, business environment improvement, competitiveness enhancement, and business support."

Since 2017 Long An has remained in the top group in the Provincial Competitiveness Index. It tops the delta in attracting FDI with a total registered capital of $6.5 billion so far, and also has 2,000 local companies with combined capital of VNĐ 230 trillion ($9.94 billion). To further attract investment in the coming time, especially FDI investment, the province has focused on developing infrastructure at selected industrial zones and clusters and expects to open them this year. In order to encourage investment in industrial parks and clusters, the province has prioritized ventures including industry development, hi-tech agriculture, the manufacturing of seafood, among others. The province has concentrated in recent years on enhancing the standard of education and training to create a more professional workforce for the sector, he said. In addition, infrastructure developers at industrial parks and clusters also directly sought investors to invest in their facilities, even sending delegations abroad to solicit investment, advertising in the media and participating in conferences to provide information about industrial parks. The province’s motto is ‘your difficulties are also our difficulties; your success is also our success’.”

Mekong River Delta: Attracting FDI to a strong industry

Vietnam is having many opportunities to welcome "waves" of foreign investment (FDI) from countries around the world. This is also an opportunity for provinces and cities in the Mekong River Delta (Mekong Delta) to increase the attraction of FDI in strong industries such as agriculture, processing, clean energy.

In the first 8 months of the year, provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta have attracted 119 new FDI projects, with a total capital of more than US $ 4,487 billion. If including additional capital, contributed capital and share purchase, the whole region attracts nearly 4.99 billion USD (of which 4 billion USD of projects in Bac Lieu). Out of 13 provinces and cities, 10 provinces have new FDI projects (except Ca Mau, Dong Thap and Soc Trang).

Up to now, the Mekong Delta region has 1,781 valid FDI projects. In which, Long An province is at the forefront in attracting FDI with 1,122 projects with registered capital of over 8.31 billion USD; followed by Kien Giang with more than 4.8 billion USD. Bac Lieu ranked third with more than 4.55 billion USD thanks to a new investment project in the energy industry with a huge capital of 4 billion USD invested by Delta Offshore Energy Pte, Ltd (Singapore). This is also the largest FDI project in the Mekong Delta ever, opening up opportunities for Bac Lieu in particular and the Mekong Delta region in general to develop, contributing to energy stability for the period 2020 - 2030 and the following years.

All the provinces have paid much attention to improve the investment environment and administrative reform.

The regional infrastructure system is connected to form the main traffic axes of the provinces and cities in the region with the city. Ho Chi Minh City - Southern key economic region ... facilitating access to abundant raw materials for the agricultural and food processing industry in the Mekong Delta - a key agricultural region of Vietnam..