Gia Lai: Where connections converge, cultures thrive and opportunities spread - A land of great potential welcoming visitors and investors

The integrated economic model of the new Gia Lai Province fully combines the strengths of its "golden forests and silver seas" following the merger. (Source: VGP)

Potential from the "vast forests" to the "ocean"

It is not by chance that Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung made this assertion. In July 2025, Binh Dinh and Gia Lai officially merged, forming the newly expanded province of Gia Lai, with an area of over 21,500 km² and a population of over 3.5 million. The administrative centre is located in Quy Nhon, marking a turning point in the development process of the Central Coast - Central Highlands region.

After the merger, Gia Lai will become a dynamic convergence of traditional values and modern development, with stronger international integration.

Considering the new Gia Lai province's integrated economic model, it brings together "golden forests and silver seas": The western region focuses on developing large-scale raw material areas, high-tech agriculture, and advanced processing industries; the eastern region prioritises marine industries, coastal urban areas, tourism, and renewable energy. The North-South Expressway, National Highways 19 and 19B, Quy Nhon Port, and Phu Cat Airport form an integrated East-West transport and trade corridor, making Gia Lai a key regional logistics and connectivity hub.

Located on strategic East-West and North-South connecting axes, Gia Lai plays a crucial role as a bridge between the South Central Coast and the Central Highlands, while also serving as a gateway to the East Sea for the Central Highlands, Southern Laos, and Northeastern Cambodia.

Located on strategic East-West and North-South transport corridors, Gia Lai plays a crucial role as a bridge between the South Central Coast and the Central Highlands, while also serving as a gateway to the East Sea for the economies of the Central Highlands, Southern Laos, and Northeastern Cambodia.

This location provides a strong competitive advantage in developing inter-regional logistics, international trade, processing industries, exports, and border trade.

Furthermore, with over 600,000 hectares of forest and millions of hectares of fertile agricultural land, Gia Lai has the advantage of developing a green and sustainable economy. Possessing 134km of coastline and 80.485km of border with Cambodia, Gia Lai has strong foundations for diversified economic development.

The province has two economic zones, 24 industrial parks, and 99 industrial clusters, with abundant clean land ready to accommodate large-scale projects. Quy Nhon Port is a national general seaport and a Class I regional port within the South Central port system, suitable for year-round docking of ships up to 70,000 tons (light load).

Currently, Gia Lai is focusing on implementing the Phu My Deepwater Port Project, with an average depth of approximately 22 meters and the capacity to receive ships with a tonnage of more than 200,000 DWT, expected to be completed in 2028.

Along with this, Gia Lai is opening up new opportunities for tourism development. Combining the majestic Central Highlands with the romantic ocean, Gia Lai offers a vibrant tourism landscape. This land boasts a pristine forest ecosystem, magnificent waterfalls, natural lakes, unique gong culture, romantic beaches, many unique Champa cultural and historical relics, and a rich culinary tradition. These potentials provide the foundation for developing a diverse and attractive range of tourism products that meet the increasingly high demands of domestic and international tourists.

The impressive figures regarding investment attraction clearly demonstrate the allure of Gia Lai.

In just the first five months of 2026, the province attracted 145 projects with a total registered capital of nearly 150,000 billion VND, reaching 85% of the year's plan and almost seven times the level recorded in the same period last year.

Of the total projects attracted, 143 were domestic investment projects with a total registered capital of 148,475 billion VND, and 2 FDI projects with a total investment of 315.85 billion VND, equivalent to approximately 12.1 million USD.

Gia Lai is opening up promising opportunities for tourism development. (Photo: Pham Quy)

The synergistic strength of foreign relations

Over the years, under the leadership of the Provincial Party Committee, Gia Lai's foreign relations work has made significant improvements, contributing to the overall development of the locality. The province's foreign relations activities are increasingly comprehensively implemented across all three pillars: Party diplomacy, State diplomacy, and people-to-people diplomacy. This has created a synergistic strength in consolidating friendly relations, expanding international cooperation, leveraging resources to serve socio-economic development, and ensuring national defence and security.

Notably, foreign relations work in Gia Lai is not limited to exchanges and visits, but is also increasingly closely linked to the goal of local development. A clear example is the Le Thanh International Border Gate Economic Zone. As a crucial gateway for trade between Vietnam and Cambodia, this area is gradually becoming an economic hub linking the Northern Central Highlands region with countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Thanks to border cooperation, trade promotion, and import/export activities, the Le Thanh international border gate has contributed to boosting economic growth, fostering friendship between the people on both sides of the border, and consolidating the national defence and people's security in the border region.

A Gia Lai provincial delegation held a working session with KBIZ KOREA on June 11, 2026. (Source: CAND)

The province's international economic integration results are also showing extremely positive changes. After 40 years of reform, from a locality with a modest export scale, by 2025, Gia Lai's export turnover has reached over 3.4 billion USD, with markets expanding to over 120 countries and territories.

Many foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the fields of processing industry, renewable energy, logistics, and economic infrastructure have been attracted to the area. In addition, the province has leveraged new-generation free trade agreements to increase the added value and competitiveness of key products, including coffee, pepper, fruits, and processed agricultural products.

Creating new successes together

With a long-term vision, Gia Lai has identified its development motto as: "Maximising potential - leveraging advantages - making breakthroughs in infrastructure - significantly improving the investment environment - achieving rapid and sustainable development." In the coming period, the province will focus on attracting investment in a selective, in-depth manner, in line with economic restructuring and sustainable development.

Gia Lai has identified science and technology, digital transformation, green transformation, and the private sector as development priorities, with a focus on industries featuring high technological content and high added value.

Quy Nhon Port. (Source: Quynhonport)

The province regards businesses as a driving force for development, following the principle that "the business's success is the province's success." Therefore, the provincial authorities are committed to accompanying businesses by reducing licensing procedures to half the time prescribed by the central government, implementing a "one-stop-shop, one focal point" mechanism, and building a facilitative, transparent, and efficient administration.

The province will implement the "Five Together" approach: "Listening together, discussing together, implementing together, sharing results, and overcoming difficulties together." Gia Lai is committed to always accompanying businesses and investors, creating the best possible conditions for them to invest, produce, and conduct business with confidence, while developing and succeeding together.

With a spirit of openness, responsibility, and determination to innovate, Gia Lai is confident that it is not only a province with great potential but also a trustworthy partner and a strategic destination for investors. This land of "golden forests and silver seas" calls upon capable enterprises and investors with strategic vision to join the province's pioneering business community in implementing large-scale, high-value-added projects that drive new growth and create new successes for shared prosperity.

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