Decision No. 99/2009/QD-TTg Approves the Plan for Developing Mong Cai International Border Gate City, Quang Ninh Province until 2020

Pursuant to …;

Approving the Project on Developing the International Border City Mong Cai, Quang Ninh Province to 2020

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PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Considering the proposal of the People's Committee of Quang Ninh Province at the report No. 584/TTr-UBND dated March 5, 2009 regarding the approval of the Project on Developing the International Border City Mong Cai to 2020,

DECISION:

Article 1. Approving the Project on Developing the International Border City Mong Cai, Quang Ninh Province to 2020 with the main contents as follows:

1. Development viewpoint:

- Building the International Border City Mong Cai, Quang Ninh Province into a center for economic development of the coastal economic belt of the Gulf of Tonkin and becoming a strong driving force for the development of the Northeast region of the country.

- The International Border City Mong Cai - the core of the open economic zone, contributing to promoting cooperation, economic exchange, cultural-social interaction, and ensuring a peaceful, friendly border area, developing together.

- Developing trade, service, tourism, and international transportation sectors are the main driving forces for the development of the International Border City Mong Cai.

2. Development objectives until 2020:

a) Building the International Border City Mong Cai, Quang Ninh Province into a border city of type II, modern, an economic and commercial center; a green city friendly to the environment; effectively performing the function of ensuring national defense, security, politics, and social order and safety;

b) Striving to reach a GDP per capita of about 60 to 65 million dong by 2020. The average economic growth rate (GDP) until 2020 is approximately 11.0 - 12.0% per year, including the agricultural, forestry, and fishery sector at 5.0 - 6.0% per year, the industry and construction sector at 14.0 - 16.0% per year, and the service sector at 12.0 - 14.0% per year; total import-export turnover growing at 14.0% per year;

c) By 2020, the International Border City Mong Cai will meet the criteria of a city of type II, with a population of about 120 thousand people in 2015; about 175 thousand people in 2020; the system of urban infrastructure projects will be invested and built synchronously towards modernity, friendliness to the environment, and reaching the standard of a model city; all production facilities will use clean technology, minimizing environmental pollution;

- Effectively performing the tasks of ensuring national defense, security, politics, and social order and safety.

3. Main tasks:

a) Economic and social development:

- Building to become one of the key hubs for goods and services exchange between ASEAN-China, China-ASEAN; a large tourist center in the northern provinces capable of connecting with localities to form a dynamic tourism route throughout the region.

- Developing the economy in conjunction with building and developing a social environment with security, national defense, preventing smuggling and commercial fraud, and maintaining national border security.

b) Urban infrastructure construction:

- Investing in building internal urban infrastructure facilities to meet the needs of cargo and passenger transport;

- Building the North Luân 2 Bridge; modernizing the road and waterway transportation system (dredging channels into the Dân Tiến, Mũi Ngọc, and Thọ Xuân ports);

- Developing the provincial road network: upgrading and completing the entire Route 18 from its current Class V-VI to Class III mountainous areas, including upgrading the section from Đông Triều to Móng Cái, the section from Móng Cái to Trà Cổ to the Red Mountain Port (Mũi Ngọc) and upgrading the section from km 285 to km 301 to Class I plains; the expressway from Mong Duong to Móng Cái, 104 km long, Mong Duong - Van Don - Hai Ha; the coastal road from Quang Ninh to Haiphong to Ninh Binh, along with other provinces in the Red River Delta;

- Expanding and upgrading Route 335 from Móng Cái to Mũi Ngọc to meet the standards of Class III plains and by 2020, reaching the standards of Class II plains; developing land transportation to Vĩnh Thực Island opening up opportunities to exploit existing land potential and other marine resources;

- Constructing, upgrading, and completing the border road from Móng Cái to Bắc Phong Sinh - Hoành Mô - Bắc Cương; constructing roads along the border river and a network of cross-border roads connecting the border roads to the interior;

- Upgrading the road connecting the city with Hải Sơn Commune. Constructing traffic routes on Vĩnh Thực Island; village-to-village roads according to rural traffic routes;

- Determining the location and land allocation for building railway stations for the routes passing through the Móng Cái City (the Hạ Long - Móng Cái route and the route from Phòng Thành of China to the Hải Phòng City);

- Developing the port and river port system according to the planning including: Building, upgrading, and completing the Vạn Gia Port into a comprehensive sea port, achieving a capacity of 5-7 million tons of cargo per year; building and expanding river ports and inland waterway terminals; dredging channels into the Red Mountain Port (Mũi Ngọc), Dân Tiến, and the Vạn Ninh port cluster; re-planning the Ka Long River port system and warehouse system;

- Upgrading and renovating the water supply infrastructure in the Western Ka Long area to ensure domestic and industrial water supply needs. Constructing a surface water treatment system from the Tràng Vinh and Đoàn Tĩnh lakes, ensuring water supply capacity for Móng Cái;

- By 2020, striving for the density of main drainage pipes to reach 6.5 km/km²; building a synchronous drainage, wastewater treatment, and solid waste collection and treatment system;

- Expanding power sources and transmission networks, building underground power systems within the city; expanding power supply networks for new industrial zones, strengthening rural and mountainous power grids;

- By 2020, striving for the lighting rate of main streets to reach 100%; ensuring that inner-city streets are at least 2 meters wide and 60% of the urban landscape is illuminated;

- The city's architecture must be unique, open, modern, civilized, best meeting the needs of developing a distinctive tourism city, unique industries, and international integration;

- Ensuring an average green space area of over 10 m² per person throughout the city. Building parks combined with green belts around the city;

- Expanding the city in the following directions: westward to the Thính Coóng Bridge (Km 15); southward to the Vạn Gia Island (Vĩnh Trung and Vĩnh Thực communes); Vạn Ninh and Hải Tiến communes; northward to Hải Sơn and Bắc Sơn communes; eastward to Trà Cổ and Bình Ngọc.

- Study the structure of land use and exploitation schemes for the Vinh Thuc island to serve the development of high-end sea and island tourism with unique features in terms of landscape, architecture, and management organization of the city;

- Free trade zone, non-tariff area at the North Luu Bridge No. 2: Trade center, logistics services, and warehousing services;

- Land planning exclusively for national defense and security in border areas, consistent with the overall planning of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security, to build a peaceful, friendly, cooperative border region for joint development;

4. List of priority investment projects: attached as an appendix.

Article 2. Mechanism and policy

a) Domestic and foreign investors investing in the city when leasing land or water surfaces shall, in addition to enjoying incentives provided for the use of land and water surfaces, also be entitled to reduced rental fees for land and water surfaces for the first five years from the date the project or facility begins operation;

b) Investors are permitted to transfer rights to use land, houses, and factories that have been leased or purchased within the city area to other eligible investors in accordance with current laws;

c) The international border gate city Mong Cai shall apply the highest incentive mechanisms and policies issued by the State regarding foreign investment, domestic investment, industrial park investment, export processing zone investment, and border economic zone investment;

d) Officials with qualifications and capabilities who work in Mong Cai shall be given preferential treatment in salary, housing, and social benefits. They shall also enjoy reduced personal income tax on taxable income;

đ) Establish vocational training schools including college-level programs in fields such as industrial engineering, commerce, tourism, and management;

e) Train business skills for local residents, legal knowledge, tourism knowledge, and professionalism for municipal officials and civil servants;

g) Enterprises in the city may be paid in Vietnamese dong, neighboring country's currency, and other convertible foreign currencies according to the regulations of the State Bank of Vietnam;

Article 3. Administrative management of the international border gate city Mong Cai

1. The city is authorized to engage foreign consulting units to prepare the general urban planning for the international border gate city Mong Cai;

2. Issuing visas for foreigners through the Mong Cai border gate shall be facilitated by immigration management authorities, prioritizing those eligible for visa issuance at the border gate;

3. Leaders of the international border gate city Mong Cai shall exchange with leaders of Dong Huan city (China) to implement pilot construction of a border economic cooperation zone in certain areas such as import-export goods, passenger entry-exit, accommodation, etc., based on the laws of each country;

Article 4. Implementation

1. The People's Committee of Quang Ninh Province is tasked with implementing the Project; coordinating with relevant ministries and agencies to complete the preparation, review, adjustment, and supplementation of plans for submission to competent authorities for approval;

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, and the People's Committee of Quang Ninh Province shall allocate and provide targeted support from the central budget to the local budget for the implementation of the Project based on annual budget capacity;

3. The People's Committee of Quang Ninh Province shall proactively apply appropriate measures to mobilize legitimate capital sources for the implementation of the city's construction and development objectives as stipulated in this Decision;

4. The People's Committee of Quang Ninh Province shall cooperate with relevant ministries and sectors to establish an organizational structure for the city towards efficiency and effectiveness, to be submitted to competent authorities for decision;

Article 5. This Decision takes effect from September 20, 2009;

Article 6. The Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Ninh Province and the Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, and Heads of agencies under the Government are responsible for enforcing this Decision./.