Petrotimes – In the morning of 26/10/2012, U Minh Ha (Ca Mau Province), the southernmost land of Vietnam , witnessed a significant event: the inauguration of Ca Mau Gas – Electricity – Fertilizer industrial complex. Nobody expects that U Minh forest, with only cajuputs and mangroves, now provides electricity, even accounting for 20% of national electricity grid as well as an unbelievable fertilizer plant similar to Phu My Fertilizer Plant. Ca Mau Gas – Electricity – Fertilizer complex has created a strong impetus not only for Ca Mau but also the whole land of nine dragons…
Ten years ago, Ca Mau was the poorest province in the country and it appeared in the Western people’s saying “as poor as Ca Mau”. Before 2006, Ca Mau’s GDP barely reached 200 billion VND. The transport infrastructure was weak as well as insufficient. The shortage of home electricity supply was unimaginably low that only 14% of Ca Mau’s households could access electricity. The agricultural proportion accounted for 70 to 80% in Ca Mau’s economic structure. Even with its strength in aquaculture, 250,000 ha of shrimp farming mostly employed extensive culture operation, resulting in low yield, approximately 1/3 of the yield by modern practices. Despite available strength on tourism, potentials on sea and island, two biosphere reserves, Ca Mau’s transport infrastructure as well as infrastructure were too poor to develop its advantages. Ca Mau’s potentials remained untapped.
