The Southeast region is looking for additional development space

​(News Portal – Dong Nai) - The Southeast region needs additional space in order to complete the goals of becoming a dynamic economic development region, a center of economics, finance, trade, services, education and training, developing highly skilled workforce, leading in science - technology, innovation, and digital transformation in the country and Southeast Asia​

Planning and exploiting riverside economic potential is one of the goals that the Southeast provinces are coordinating to implement in the near future.

Three development sub-regions
The Southeast region is the country's largest economic center with a particularly important position and role in the nation's socio-economic development. In 2022, GRDP in the Southeast region accounted for about 31% of the country, while exports and budget revenue contributed about 35% and 38% of the country, respectively.
However, in recent years, many limitations have been revealed, causing the region's growth rate to not be commensurate with its position and potential.

According to a report by the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies, it is showed that the current management framework and mechanisms have not fully exploited the economic potential of the Southeast region, and the region's growth is lower than the country's average.

That reality requires new strategies to remove "bottlenecks" so that the Southeast region can accelerate its development in the new setting. In particular, planning to create new development space for the region is an urgent requirement.
In the Southeast region's planning orientation framework report for the period 2021 – 2030, with a vision to 2050, the Vietnam Institute for Development Strategies has laid out the development orientation of the Region divided into 3 sub-regions.

Of which, the central sub-region includes: Ho Chi Minh City, the southern part of Binh Duong and the southwestern part of Dong Nai provinces. This is a sub-region centers around developing high-quality services, international financial services, education and training, healthcare, high-tech and specialized industries, and international trade hubs.

The second sub-region includes: Can Gio area of Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria - Vung Tau province with a focus on marine economy. At the same time, a free trade zone will be formed in the Cai Mep Ha area, helping develop Ba Ria - Vung Tau province into a national marine economic center, and turn Vung Tau city is a world-class high-quality tourism center.

Meanwhile, the northern sub-region includes Tay Ninh, Binh Phuoc and the northern parts of Dong Nai and Binh Duong, targeting border economic development. Logistics, agricultural and forestry product processing industry, expanding industrial development space, growing industrial crops, protecting water sources, forest ecosystems and biodiversity are the areas that will be focused on development in this sub-region.

Forming development driving areas
In Resolution No. 24-NQ/TW dated October 7, 2022 of the Politburo on the direction of socio-economic development and ensuring national defense and security of the Southeast Region until 2030, with a vision to 2045, the requirement for the region's development process in the coming time is to develop rapidly and sustainably, in line with the strategic role of the country's largest development driving region.

Development of the Southeast Region must be consistent with the socio-economic development strategy of the country, while ensures it remains consistent with the national planning system, in accordance with the strategy for sustainable development, national green growth, and adaptation to climate change. At the same time, the development also focuses on digital economy, sharing economy, green economy, and circular economy.
Based on this goal, the planning orientation framework for the Southeast region in the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, has clearly defined the driving force of the region.

The first of the region's driving force for national development includes Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria - Vung Tau. In this dynamic region, Ho Chi Minh City will be the center of development, focusing on science, technology and innovating ecosystems, taking the lead in transforming growth models, establish a digital economy and society. Furthermore, the city will also focus on financial, banking, science, technology and logistics services in hope of attracting investment in high-tech industries and establishing software and artificial intelligence development zones.

The second driving force is economic zones, free trade zones, and specific urban areas. These areas' main focuses will be improving the operational efficiency of border gate economic zones in Tay Ninh and Binh Phuoc provinces, the developing of Moc Bai border gate economic zone in the direction of industry - urban - trade - service, a free trade zone associated with the seaport at Cai Mep Ha, the international airport in Long Thanh city, Ho Chi Minh City's international finance hub and its creative startup and artificial intelligence centers, and finally Binh Duong and Dong Nai province.
The driving force in the region are the national and regional innovation centers, high-tech parks, information and digital technology parks; Biotechnology Center of Ho Chi Minh City… ​​