Quảng Ninh approves $36m hi-tech farming zone

QUẢNG NINH — The People’s Committee of northern Quảng Ninh Province has approved the establishment of a hi-tech farming zone, expected to cost VNĐ829 billion (US$36 million), in Đàm Hà District.

A shrimp farming area which uses Israeli technology in Đầm Hà District. — Photo baodautu

Covering nearly 170ha, the zone will be used for researching and fostering the application of technology in the seafood industry with a focus on shrimp development in the province and others in the north.

It will be also in charge of providing fish breeds, developing technologies used for fisheries farming and support industries besides focusing on personnel training for the seafood industry, the online newspaper said.

Of the zone’s total investment, VNĐ159 billion will come from the provincial budget while the remainder will be contributed by the Bình Thuận Province-based Viet-Uc Seafood Corp – the zone’s developer and strategic investor. The company will be eligible to manage more than 100ha of the zone’s area.    

The zone will be developed in three stages. The first phase will be kicked off in 2020, the second will implemented in the 2021-23 period and the third will last from 2024 to 2025.

The Prime Minister has approved a master plan for hi-tech agriculture zones through 2020, a move to put domestic farming on the sustainable development track and ensure national food security.

Besides previously-approved hi-tech farming parks in Hậu Giang and Phú Yên, another eight will be built in HCM City, the northern provinces of Thái Nguyên and Quảng Ninh, the central provinces of Thanh Hóa and Khánh Hòa, the Central Highlands province of Lâm Đồng, and southern Bình Dương and Cần Thơ City. 

Farming zones applying technological advances dedicated to coffee trees are mostly in the Central Highlands, northwest and north central regions. 

By 2030, studies on zoning off hi-tech agriculture areas will be conducted in Lào Cai, Phú Thọ, Sơn La, Hà Nội, Hải Phòng, Nghệ An, Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu and Tiền Giang, among others, to reveal the impact of the programme.