A business in Đồng Tháp Province prepares meals for workers. Provinces across the Mekong Delta are helping businesses remain reopen during the pandemic. – Photo nld.com.vn

MEKONG DELTA – Mekong Delta provinces have been helping local businesses maintain production and investment while staying safe from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trà Vinh Province’s Department of Planning and Investment, for example, said that investment permits and certifications were granted to 14 new domestic investment projects in the first six months of the year.

Lâm Hữu Phúc, deputy director of the department, said the province was working with companies to help them overcome problems and recover quickly. It has reduced taxes, loan interest and certain bills.

Twenty-five businesses are providing accommodations to staff to continue production, as of August 11. The businesses were asked to strictly follow pandemic regulations and work with health authorities on contact tracing and quarantining infected cases.

Meanwhile, Cần Thơ City attracted two foreign investment projects worth a total of $1.31 billion in the first six months of the year, ranking third in the country in terms of FDI attraction, after Long An and HCM City.

The city will establish a centre to further expedite administrative procedures, according to its People’s Committee.

Around 100 businesses in the city have maintained production by arranging staff accommodations. City departments are keeping an eye on how well they follow pandemic regulations.

Other provinces in the Mekong Delta are requiring businesses to adhere to strict regulations, such as Đồng Tháp Province, which has been checking up on local businesses and helping them overcome challenges, and monitoring industrial parks' compliance.

Phạm Thiện Nghĩa, chairman of Đồng Tháp People’s Committee, said that businesses can work with health authorities to have regular COVID-19 tests and vaccines for staff.

However, according to the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Cần Thơ City, many businesses, especially small to medium sized, are struggling in the delta, especially those that cannot afford to arrange accommodations for their staff.

Large businesses are also worried about lowered production output, stressed-out workers, and loss of foreign customers.

Some businesses are struggling with unclear regulations surrounding essential goods, test results, and travel across provinces.

They also need lower loan interest rates, more vaccinations for staff, and more government support.

In the first six months of the year, more than 5,100 new businesses opened in the Mekong Delta, but nearly 5,000 businesses were in the process of dissolving or had already dissolved.

Around 1,800 businesses have temporarily closed. – VNS