BÌNH PHƯỚC — The southern province of Bình Phước plans to offer investors incentives and support to revive its economy after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

Trần Tuệ Hiền, chairwoman of its People’s Committee, said at a recent meeting the province was preparing to implement a recovery plan, which includes incentives to attract investments.

Priority would be given to investment in key sectors such as technology, information technology, supporting industries, agriculture, environmental protection, infrastructure, culture, sports, tourism, and healthcare, she said.

Võ Sá, director of the province Department of Planning and Investment, said the incentives would include waiver and reduction of land and water surface rents, income tax and licensing fees.

New projects in certain fields or located in extremely disadvantaged areas would get a 50 per cent reduction in land rents and have to only pay tax of 10 per cent for 15 years, he said.

Hiền said the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control has classified Bình Phước among provinces and cities that had kept the COVID outbreak under control.

The province identified pandemic prevention as a key task together with economic revival, job creation and social security, she said.

“We are determined to live and work safely with the pandemic.”

The resumption of business activities is imperative, but it should be done step by step with a suitable roadmap to achieve the “double goal” of containing the pandemic and reviving the economy, she said.

The province would consider allowing enterprises applying the ‘three-on-site’ (working, eating, resting at the factory or workplace) or 'one route, two destinations' model (workers travelling between their accommodation and the factory on a set route with no stops on the way) to increase the number of workers or get new ones.

But for this they should not have had new COVID-19 cases in the last 14 days, and the workers who come in must be living in a green zone (COVID-free area) or have received at least one dose of a vaccine.

The province is also seeking to support businesses that have been forced to suspend operations due to the pandemic, and speed up vaccination of factory workers.

Bình Phước is one of eight provinces and cities in the southern key economic zone along with HCM City and Bình Dương, Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu, Đồng Nai, Tây Ninh, Long An and Tiền Giang provinces. — VNS