The rapid transformation and development of these major industrial projects have not only created new momentum for individual localities but also helped establish a competitive coastal economic corridor for the country's next phase of development.
Leading the way in regional economic development
Located along the southern coast of Thanh Hoa Province, Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Plant represents a total investment of more than 9 billion USD. Following four years of construction, the project began commercial operations in 2018. The plant's establishment has laid the foundations for a more sustainable energy future while playing a leading role in driving socio-economic development in coastal localities and Thanh Hoa Province.
According to leaders of Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC, the plant has the capacity to process 10 million tonnes of crude oil annually. Its main products include RON 92 and RON 95 petrol and diesel. In March 2024, the plant successfully produced and commercialised a clean fuel with an extremely low sulphur content: premium diesel meeting the 10 ppm standard.
Statistics show that during the first eight months of this year, the plant operated at an average of 110.9% of its designed capacity, generating revenue of 185.5 trillion VND (7.18 billion USD) and contributing approximately 18 trillion VND (696.61 million USD) to the state budget, with nearly 14 trillion VND (541.8 million USD) in after-tax profit.
This was also the first year in which Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC recorded a positive profit since the plant began commercial operations. By the end of August 2026, the plant had processed a cumulative 78.5 million tonnes of crude oil and supplied nearly 52.8 million tonnes of petrol and oil products to the domestic market, helping safeguard national energy security.
In Ha Tinh Province, the Formosa Ha Tinh steel complex and Son Duong deep-water port project is a major foreign direct investment (FDI) undertaking that plays an important role in local socio-economic development.
Vo Ta Nghia, Deputy Head of the Ha Tinh Economic Zone Management Board, said the project provided regular employment for more than 10,000 workers each year, including those employed by contractors and supporting businesses operating at the site. Vietnamese workers accounted for more than 92% of the workforce.
Between 2015 and 2025, the company paid approximately 3.1 billion USD in taxes (around 75 trillion VND), including about 610 million USD in local taxes and 2.4 billion USD in central government taxes. In the first nine months of 2026 alone, it contributed approximately 190 million USD to the state budget.
Between 2019 and 2024, the project's average contribution to Ha Tinh's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) was 20.27%, while its average contribution to the province's economic growth rate was 1.35 percentage points.
Diversifying drivers of growth
Mai Xuan Liem, Standing Vice Chairman of the Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee, said the province aimed to turn its advantages in energy, seaports and existing industrial capacity into competitive production, supply and service capabilities. It also sought to strengthen links with domestic enterprises, increase locally generated value and make a tangible contribution to national industrial and energy supply chains. These efforts would help Nghi Son become a long-term growth driver and establish Thanh Hoa as a new growth pole for the region and the country.
According to leaders of Nghe An Province, the local economy maintained positive growth momentum in the third quarter of 2026, with GRDP expanding by 10.11%. Processing and manufacturing, a core contributor to this performance, firmly established itself as a key growth driver, recording an impressive growth rate of 20.66%. The sector contributed 3.51 percentage points to economic growth, accounting for 85.09% of the total contribution from industry.
The industrial production index (IIP) for processing and manufacturing continued to rise quarter by quarter, increasing by 25.79% over the first nine months of the year. Alongside the expansion of production capacity, the sector's employment index surged by 33.93%. Labour growth was particularly pronounced among FDI enterprises, where employment increased by 63.37% year on year.
The province's success in attracting investment is reflected in the development of key industrial products in the Southeast Nghe An Economic Zone and its industrial parks. During the first nine months of 2026, the economic zone and industrial parks attracted 13 new projects and 13 additional capital investment projects from FDI enterprises, with total investment reaching 2.472 billion USD. As of September 30, the area was home to 124 FDI projects, with total registered investment capital of 8.875 billion USD. This investment has not only expanded production capacity but also created conditions for the development of new industrial value chains in the province.
Nguyen Manh Loi, Deputy Head of the Southeast Nghe An Economic Zone Management Board, said the zone and its industrial parks had successfully attracted high-quality FDI thanks to the availability of prepared land, synchronised infrastructure and policies providing close support to businesses and investors.
Teng Wei Hong, General Director of VSIP Nghe An, said that through its ongoing cooperation with the province, the company had witnessed increasingly evident industrialisation, reflected in the growing number of projects in electronics, precision engineering and high-tech manufacturing. The increasing presence of international enterprises was helping build a manufacturing ecosystem and strengthen Nghe An's position in regional supply chains.
Nguyen Manh Loi added that the province had recently urged major processing and manufacturing, high-tech and assembly projects in the economic zone and industrial parks to accelerate implementation so that they could begin operations and make substantial contributions to industrial growth. These included projects in electronics and metal manufacturing undertaken by major groups such as Luxshare, Everwin, Sangdong, Foxconn, Tan Viet, Sunny, Thien Nang and Juteng.
The stable operation of production lines and the ramp-up to high capacity by FDI groups in the Southeast Nghe An Economic Zone have driven impressive increases in the output of the province's high-tech industrial products. Compared with the first nine months of 2025, output of smartphone components quadrupled, semiconductor devices reached 14.9 million units, up 3.5 times, and electronic component parts increased 3.4 times. Flat-rolled stainless steel output reached 159,800 tonnes, up 2.6 times, while computer parts and accessories totalled 4.1 million units, a 2.4-fold increase.
“Nghe An's economic restructuring towards industrialisation and modernisation is on the right track. To sustain and build on this growth momentum, the Southeast Nghe An Economic Zone Management Board will continue to act as a bridge between stakeholders and create the most transparent and favourable investment environment possible. Nghe An Province is committed to working alongside investors to accelerate the development of essential infrastructure, promptly resolve obstacles and work towards becoming a leading centre for processing and manufacturing and high-tech industries in the North Central Coast and the country as a whole,” Nguyen Manh Loi said.
