Foreign long-stay visitors seen as ‘clean’ FDI for Da Nang: experts

At a consultation workshop on Tuesday organized by the Da Nang People’s Committee to gather input for the city’s master plan through 2045, with a vision to 2075, participants highlighted new growth opportunities for the central coastal city amid major administrative and economic changes.

Speaking at the event, Nguyen Van Binh, chairman of Sun Group’s Central Vietnam operations, said Da Nang is facing a 'once-in-a-thousand-years' opportunity that could easily be missed without careful preparation.

He stressed that the city’s high quality of living makes it attractive to international residents, many of whom choose to stay for several months while working remotely.

“Their spending in foreign currency is direct and clean FDI [foreign direct investment]," Binh said.

"In 2025, Da Nang welcomed 6.3 million international visitors, and the city aims for even higher growth."

Associate Professor Nguyen Anh Tuan of the University of Science and Technology, under the University of Da Nang, emphasized that the merger of Da Nang and Quang Nam Province in July last year under National Assembly Resolution 202 is not just an administrative change but an opportunity to reposition Da Nang.

As per Resolution 202, issued on June 12, 2025, Vietnam reorganized its provincial-level administrative units into 34 provinces and centrally governed cities, including the merger of Da Nang and Quang Nam into a new city retaining the name Da Nang.

He argued that the expanded Da Nang is undergoing major demographic, economic, and cultural shifts, requiring a modern, multicultural urban model with its own identity.

Tuan proposed five key tasks for planning, including developing unused coastal land south of the Thu Bon River into eco-urban areas, international tourism complexes, free trade zones, high-tech industries, and logistics hubs.

Experts said the merger marks a historic turning point to establish Da Nang as an 'international coastal city,' a hub of Vietnam’s central region, and a gateway for ASEAN trade.

To Van Hung, deputy secretary of the Da Nang People’s Committee Party unit, suggested dividing Da Nang into two zones: the eastern coastal plains and the western midlands.

He called for a polycentric urban structure, with a financial and high-end services hub in central Da Nang, and an innovation and technology hub in Hoa Vang, Cam Le, and Ngu Hanh Son, including a university village.