An Giang seizes 'golden opportunity' to attract investment

The newly merged An Giang Province stands before a historic opportunity to affirm its position as a new growth pole in the Mekong Delta. As the region's largest province, with a natural area of over 9,888 square kilometers, An Giang combines four key elements: delta, hills/mountains, sea/islands, and border. This rare foundation creates ecological diversity and potential for comprehensive development.

At a recent scientific workshop organized by the An Giang Provincial Party Committee to set the socio-economic development orientation and provide feedback on the draft documents for the 2025–2030 Provincial Party Congress, economic experts and local leaders uniformly agreed that An Giang has all the factors, "favorable timing, geographical advantage, and human harmony”, to become an attractive destination for strategic investment capital.

Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, former Director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics and a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, stated that An Giang is entering a phase of strategic transformation. The merger of An Giang and Kien Giang, consolidating power into the new An Giang Province, represents not just an expansion of area and administrative boundaries, but a new realm of opportunities.

According to Dr. Thien, An Giang has a high degree of reliance on agriculture, fertile land, abundant water, and a robust canal system. This is the foundation for developing large-scale commodity agriculture, specifically rice, vegetables, and seafood. However, to achieve a breakthrough, the province must move beyond merely "exploiting" resources and transition to development based on high technology, quality human resources, and flexible institutions.

With its rivers, islands, and sea, An Giang is already a national leader in the farming of pangasius (tra fish), tilapia, giant river prawns, and brackish water shrimp. By promoting deep processing, applying digital technology, and implementing green standards, An Giang could become a leading agricultural and seafood export hub in the region. Dr. Thien emphasized: "Only by combining its existing geographical advantages with decisive institutional reform can An Giang convert its traditional strengths into a driving force for sustainable development."

The provincial leadership also highlighted several distinctive advantages, affirming a strong aspiration for development in the new period. Secretary Nguyen Tien Hai listed the key areas for large-scale investment solicitation:

• High-tech Agriculture: Rice, seafood, and fruit trees.
• Maritime Economics: Phu Quoc is being oriented as an international tourism and aquaculture center.
• Border-Gate Trade: Favorable trade with Cambodia and Thailand.
• Logistics and Processing Industry: Linked to increasingly improved infrastructure.
• Cultural-Ecological-Island Tourism: Exploiting the strengths of its landscapes and the heritage of the Kinh, Khmer, Cham, and Hoa communities.

In the past term, the province recorded encouraging results: the post-merger GRDP growth reached over 8.1%, placing it among the top 17 fastest-growing provinces nationwide. The economic structure has shifted positively, with strong growth in trade and services and rapid urbanization, a solid foundation for An Giang’s next phase of comprehensive growth.

An Giang boasts a coastline of over 200 kilometers and a vast sea area featuring numerous islands and archipelagos like Phu Quoc, Nam Du, and Tho Chu, which are considered "green gems" in the Gulf of Thailand. This area offers abundant seafood resources and diverse ecosystems—such as mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral reefs, creating ideal conditions for developing high-tech marine farming, including mollusk, cage fish, seaweed, pearls, and marine medicinal herbs.

For 2025, An Giang Province aims to develop aquaculture with an area of over 327,900 hectares and a production output of nearly 1.15 million tons. Key farmed species include tra fish, brackish water shrimp, marine fish, sea crabs, various freshwater fish, and pearl oysters. Modern marine farming models are also expanding, such as raising grouper, cobia, blood cockles on mudflats, golden pomfret, and shrimp, crabs, and giant river prawns in coastal areas. The entire province has nearly 9,800 fishing vessels, accounting for over 10% of the country's total.

From the perspective of marine and aquaculture expert, Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Chu Hoi, after the merger, An Giang possesses an expansive development space encompassing the delta, mountains, and sea/islands, with maritime and aquaculture economics being the distinctive, standout advantage. He affirmed: "This is a ‘golden opportunity’ to vigorously restructure the economy towards the sea, ensure sustainable development linked with protecting sovereignty, and build An Giang into a multi-sector, multi-field maritime economic hub".

The goal of developing An Giang into a strong national maritime economic center by 2030 is a breakthrough direction, reflecting a clear understanding of the potential of its sea and islands. Building fisheries centers, processing zones linked to raw material areas, and combining this with the development of renewable energy are appropriate, long-term solutions.

According to Dr. Hoi, An Giang now holds a dual advantage in attracting investment: it is both a large fishing ground and is located near major processing and export centers. Building a green, clean, and international-standard seafood value chain, along with controlling IUU (Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated) fishing, will help An Giang become a strategic investment destination. The province has sufficient potential to become a national aquaculture center, attracting large capital flows in the coming period.

From the perspectives of economic experts, aquaculture specialists, and local leaders, it is clear that An Giang holds a "golden opportunity" for a breakthrough. Its strategic location, diverse resources, large population, and open policies are a solid foundation. The remaining issue is for the province to transform these advantages into benefits through institutional reform, high-tech application, and green, sustainable development.