The economic zone, located in southern Tay Ninh province, is part of a growing network of large commercial centres in Vietnam.

Duong Thanh Van, head of the management board of the Moc Bai border economic zone’s Planning and Investment Office, said the zone changes day by day.

When the zone was open to public business in 2004, the Government began adjusting a number of incentive policies on land, tax and administrative procedures to lure both domestic and foreign investors to the zone.

One of the zone’s most ambitious investment projects is the US$23.5 million Hiep Thanh Trading Complex which comprises a modern housing bloc and a shopping mall. The construction of the 48ha complex was completed last month. Along with a 500-guest restaurant, a large supermarket has just opened and the complex will be directly connected to Cambodia soon.

The zone has three other shopping areas near the Moc Bai border gate. They include a duty free supermarket, a mini supermarket, and a traditional border market attracting 3,000 – 4,000 shoppers from both countries daily.

Opened in late 2005, the duty free supermarket sells 30,000 kinds of commodities and employs 310 staff.

Alongside the trading centres, several other housing and villa building projects have been completed.

HCM City’s Phi Long Company, the first investor in the Moc Bai zone in 2004, said that investors should develop trade centres first to attract labourers and then develop urban centres around entertainment parks, theatres and cinemas.

Over the past two years, the zone has attracted 27 domestic investors to 38 projects totally valued at US$350 million. The projects are concentrated in industrial infrastructure, housing, trade and services.

The site is also home to a steel rolling mill and a transport joint venture between Vietnam and Cambodia. The joint venture company has 26 passenger buses running on two routes linking the Moc Bai zone with HCM City and Tay Ninh city.

Calling for investment
The Moc Bai border economic zone has so far failed to attract foreign investors due to poor infrastructure for Transport from the zone to other parts of the province.

The zone needs more investment capital to build and upgrade roads as well as water and electricity supplies in order to develop the zone socially and economically.

Head of the Moc Bai border zone management board Phan Minh Thanh said it is important to promote the sales of Vietnamese products to Cambodia. Turnover of goods sales to Cambodia is about US$14 million a year, of which only nine percent comes from Cambodian customers travelling into Vietnam.

Established in 1998, it took the Moc Bai border zone until 2004 to clear land and put facilities in place. Now, the economic zone covers 21,283 ha in the two districts of Be Cau and Trang Bang, bordering Cambodia’s Svay Rieng province.

VNS