Growth drivers of Lao Cai

Lao Cai Border Gate Economic Zone is invested with infrastructure, synchronous service system, meeting the needs of import-export trade, tourism and services between Vietnam and China; aiming to become a modern logistics center, a driving force for economic growth of the province, connecting with the region and internationally.

Lao Cai Border Gate Economic Zone has a total area of ​​nearly 16,000 hectares with functional sub-areas: Lao Cai International Border Gate Area (area for entry and exit, import and export, trade, tourism and services) with 3 pairs of border gates: Lao Cai Railway International Border Gate (Vietnam) - Hekou (China), Lao Cai Road International Border Gate No. I (Vietnam) - Hekou (China) connected by Ho Kieu II Bridge across Nam Thi River, Kim Thanh Road International Border Gate No. II (Vietnam) - Bac Son (China) connected by Kim Thanh Bridge.

Investment items contributing to improving customs clearance capacity include: Renovating and upgrading the warehouse system and control gates at Kim Thanh International Road Border Gate No. II (upgrading and renovating Control Gate No. 1 into 2 exit lanes and 3 entry lanes - operating from November 1, 2024, meeting the target of 500 exiting vehicles and 500 entry vehicles per day); organizing the flow of entry vehicles at KB1 yard (from December 4, 2024); investing in a parking lot for import and export of goods, relocating the weighbridge and dividing traffic in the Kim Thanh Border Gate area in a synchronous and reasonable manner.

In addition, completing and piloting the digital border gate platform at Kim Thanh Border Gate from August 21, 2023, thereby shortening the time for handling procedures at barrier No. 1, averaging less than 2 minutes/vehicle.

Thanks to administrative procedure reform, digital transformation and investment promotion, many large logistics enterprises such as Viettel Post, VNPost, T&T Logistics, Hateco Logistics, Becamex IDC, Tan Cang Saigon, Vinalines, etc. have shown interest and desire to invest in border economic zones, especially in the fields of warehousing, transit and cross-border smart logistics.

Currently, the capacity and efficiency of Lao Cai border gates have increased significantly, contributing to exploiting the advantages of border gates and becoming the driving force for economic and trade development of the province and the region.

Regarding budget revenue, activities at the border gate area alone are still one of the province's main sources of revenue. In 2024, budget revenue will reach VND 1,400 billion, of which infrastructure fees will reach VND 112.37 billion, exceeding the annual plan by 60%, making a significant contribution to infrastructure development, social security and reinvestment in the border gate economic zone.

According to Mr. Quoc, the upcoming operation of the Bat Xat (Vietnam) - Ba Sai (China) border bridge in Lao Cai province will be an important turning point in the strategy of expanding the Lao Cai - Yunnan economic corridor, helping to open up new development space for the Lao Cai border gate economic zone, especially on the Kunming - Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh economic corridor. This bridge not only has geopolitical significance but also opens up many great opportunities for trade and logistics, such as opening another international trade gateway, increasing transport capacity and logistics in border areas.

It can be affirmed that Lao Cai border gate economy has been making remarkable progress, but to fully exploit its potential, there are still some major bottlenecks that need to be synchronously removed at both local and central levels. These are: Logistics services at the border gate area are still mainly basic and individual in nature; there is no unified mechanism for coordination of management between functional forces at the border gate, such as Customs, Border Guard, Quarantine... (because each force still uses its own system, does not share data effectively, causing overlap and prolonging customs clearance time); the lack of modern inspection and testing centers right at the border gate also reduces the capacity to handle specialized goods such as fresh agricultural products.

According to Mr. Vuong Trinh Quoc, with the orientation of organizing a new development space, the Lao Cai border gate economic zone will play the role of a driving force for growth in the North, an important transit hub in the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong - Kunming economic corridor.

With that vision, the goal is to completely build a smart border gate model, with the goal of improving customs clearance capacity 2-3 times and reducing logistics costs by 30-40% compared to present; forming a regional border logistics center, connecting roads - railways - waterways, associated with the ecosystem of logistics services, cold storage, testing, digital logistics; striving for import-export turnover through border gates in the province to reach 10.5 billion USD by 2030, in which agricultural products, deeply processed goods and cross-border logistics are the pillars.

To realize the above goals, it is necessary to synchronize key groups of solutions on planning economic space of border gates according to the multi-center model, including strongly developing the Kim Thanh - Ban Vuoc area by opening the Ban Vuoc - Bat Xat customs clearance route belonging to the Lao Cai (Vietnam) - Ha Khau (China) International Border Gate pair, opening the Muong Khuong - Kieu Dau bilateral border gate pair, and moving towards upgrading to an international border gate according to Decision No. 1199/QD-TTg dated October 14, 2023 approving the Planning of border gates on the Vietnam - China land border for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050.

Complete the logistics infrastructure and inter-regional traffic connection system, invest in connecting routes between functional areas, specialized wharves, and railway branches serving container transit. Attract logistics, trade, and technology corporations to invest in border economic zones, in the spirit of socializing infrastructure, services, and applying advanced technology. Recommend the Central Government to complete the legal corridor on border economic and smart border gates, allowing the piloting of specific mechanisms on finance, procedures, international cooperation, and inter-sectoral coordination.

Presented by: Hoang Thu

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/dong-luc-tang-truong-cua-lao-cai-post648181.html