Can Tho enhancing collaboration with KOAECA (RoK).

On 16 May 2022, Mr. Tran Viet Truong, Chairman of the City People's Committee had a meeting with Mr. Lee Nam Kee, Chairman of the Korea-Asia Economic Cooperation Association (KOAECA).

The two sides exchanged and discussed the direction of cooperation in the coming time in a number of fields such as tourism, investment in logistics infrastructure and seaports, airports, development of high-tech agriculture. The focus of the discussion is on the upcoming projects and planning of Can Tho, such as the agri-business hub in the Mekong Delta located in Can Tho, the "airport city" project, and logistics center project at Cai Cui Port.

The agri-business hub project is expected to cover about 3,300 hectares; in phase 1, about 450 hectares will be planned. Phase 1 also focused on deploying warehouse systems, cold storage, logistics systems serving the consumption of agricultural products in the Mekong Delta. Can Tho is preparing for the draft to submit to the Prime Minister for approval in this May.

In addition, Can Tho City has also been approved by the Government as a Grade II logistics center with about 242 hectares located at Cai Cui Port (Cai Rang District). Besides, Can Tho is planning a model of "airport city" with an area of ​​10,000ha covering high-tech industrial parks and busy commercial centers.

According to Mr. Tran Viet Truong, Incheon city (Republic of Korea) has the globally famous Incheon airport. He suggested KOAECA connect the cooperation between the two cities of Incheon and Can Tho, as well as connect Korean businesses participating in research, survey, and bidding in the "airport city" project of Can Tho.

The city leader also suggested KOAECA to invite Korean businesses to invest in the planned Can Tho hi-tech industrial park, especially the digital transformation technologies for the development of the city.

Currently, Can Tho City has the Vietnam - Korea Incubator Park, which has been in operation for 5 years. However, the park has not had as many activities as expected by the two sides. Therefore, the city leadership suggested KOAECA head visit and facilitate further activities so that in the coming time, the park will operate more effectively and substantively.

Thanking the city's leaders for the warm welcome, Mr. Lee Nam Kee expressed his appreciation for the strong transformation of the city in recent times and believed that the city would have good development steps in the future. Korean investors are interested in economic development issues in the direction of high-tech production, digital transformation application, etc. Mr. Lee pledged to make efforts to promote cooperation connections between KOAECA as well as Korean investors with Can Tho City.

Regarding the fields of cooperation proposed by Can Tho, Chairman Lee said that he would work closely with Can Tho in the fields of agriculture, logistics and seaports, aviation and tourism for future collaboration.

To implement agricultural cooperation, KOAECA would provide technology transfer and financial solutions, while Can Tho would only work on issueing permits, preparing for land and labor force.

For investment fields such as airports, highways, and seaports, KOAECA would provide finance, effectively speeding up infrastructure progress. For other fields, after the meeting, KOAECA hoped to receive more information for further study. After that, they would search and coordinate with Korean businesses and investors to return to Can Tho to discuss these areas more deeply.

Within the framework of the working session, the Department of Planning and Investment of Can Tho City and KOAECA signed the Working Minutes. Contents of cooperation include: exchange, support and provide information between the Department of Planning and Investment of Can Tho City and KOAECA for investment research cooperation in the near future; exchange information and experiences in developing socio-economic planning; support businesses/projects in the city in terms of finance, production, investment, and business through various products and services of financial and banking solutions, and other consulting services and support in accordance with the law of Vietnam.

In Can Tho City, there are currently 14 direct investment projects from Republic of Korea with a total registered investment capital of about 261 million USD. Republic of Korea ranks second among countries and territories investing in Can Tho City, mainly operating in the fields of production and trade.