In August 2008, the government approved a plan to develop the central region’s key economic zone into an international transit, trade and processing centre and since then, it has seen a number of economic parks taking place such as Chu Lai, Dung Quat, Nhon Hoi and Chan May. It now has a dense network of airports and seaports, including deepwater ports to facilitate development, especially for the marine economy.

The investment from the state budget poured into the area surged from 66 percent to nearly 75 percent, 80 percent of which was construction capital. The area’s competitiveness index has also improved dramatically.

However, many economists feel that the region has not fully exploited its potential due to a lack of coordination between provinces whose economic development efforts overlap to such an extent that hinders the progress of foreign-invested projects.

All the provinces have built seaports without careful calculation in advance. As a result, some fail to operate properly as there are not enough goods for loading docks.

When the infrastructure is functioning, some provinces rush to mass-produce goods without doing proper market research, leading to a slowdown in sales.

Economic experts propose the provinces work closely with each other according to groups of industries or administrative boundaries. They should share and cooperate in tapping the region’s potential effectively.