Dak Lak(VNA) – The Central Highlands region has become an increasingly attractivedestination for investment which has fueled economic growth and improvedpeople’s livelihoods, said the Steering Committee for the Central Highlands.

Between 2011 and 2015, total investment in theCentral Highlands provinces (Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Lam Dong)surpassed 265.7 trillion VND (over 11.6 billion USD), double the figure in 2006-2010.

The figure grew about 11.3 percent per annumduring the five-year period through 2015. While investment in agriculture,forestry and fisheries rose 14.89 percent annually, it hiked 2.39 percent and12.13 percent in the industry and construction sector and the services sector,respectively.

Dak Nong posted the strongest investment growth,about 20 percent each year. Notably, investment in transport in the province in2011-2015 shot up 4.6 times from the previous five years.

In 2016, investment in the Central Highlandsamounted to more than 76.37 trillion VND (3.34 billion USD), up 15.85 percentfrom a year earlier, according to the Steering Committee.

To encourage domestic and foreign investment,the provinces have been working to improve their competitiveness, popularise localadvantages, and remove bottlenecks.

In 2015, the region attracted 254 investmentprojects worth more than 34.11 trillion VND (1.49 billion USD), increasing111.67 percent in project number and 76.76 percent in registered capital.

It is housing 128 foreign direct investmentprojects worth 818.7 million USD at present, mostly in agricultural andforestry production and processing, and services.

Meanwhile, about 64 trillion VND (2.8 billionUSD) was invested in developing transport in the Central Highlands, putting anumber of facilities into use such as the Ho Chi Minh Road through the region,National Highways 19, 20 and 28, and the airports of Buon Ma Thuot, Lien Khuongand Pleiku.

The regional transport network has a totallength of almost 40,000km now, the Steering Committee noted.

The committee said thanks to investment inflow,the local economy has lifted while ethnic residents’ livelihoods have beenimproved. However, those achievements are still below the potential of the CentralHighlands.

It asked the Government and provincialauthorities to issue favourable mechanisms and policies for investmentattraction.-VNA