Over the years, Ca Mau - a sacred land in the southernmost point of the country has undergone drastic changes to become a growth area in the Mekong Delta thanks to its advantages in marine economy, renewable energy, tourism and logistics services.
Over the years, Ca Mau - a sacred land in the southernmost point of the country has undergone drastic changes to become a growth area in the Mekong Delta thanks to its advantages in marine economy, renewable energy, tourism and logistics services.
Mui Ca Mau (Ca Mau cape) is a cape on the Ca Mau peninsula in Vietnam. It is near the southernmost tip of the Vietnamese mainland. Photo: Le Nguyen
Great Opportunity from Marine Economy and Clean Energy
Ca Mau is the only province in the country which has three sides bordering the sea with a total coastline of more than 250km, accounting for one third of the coastline of the whole Mekong Delta.
The sea around Ca Mau has an area of about 71,000 km2 for exploration, which is considered one of the four key fishing areas of the country with abundant resources of seafood, including high economic value types such as shrimp, squid, crab, snapper, mackerel, pompano, grouper and cobia. The coastal water area is also very suitable for the large-scale farming of aquatic species like clams, blood cockles, oysters and saltwater shrimp.
Taking advantage of favorable natural conditions, over the years, Ca Mau province has focused on developing the fishing industry in three areas of farming, fishing and processing. With proper attention and investment, Ca Mau has developed a powerful fishing fleet of more than 4,500 units.
Ca Mau has defined the fishery industry as a spearheaded economic sector and planned to become a hub for aquaculture, fishing and processing seafood for the country. The province's aquatic products have been sent to over 60 countries, including selective markets such as the US, Japan and the EU.
Ca Mau is the leading province in shrimp farming nationwide with a total area accounting for nearly 40% and output accounting for about 22% of the whole country.
Despite the problems of the market caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and armed conflicts in some countries around the world, Ca Mau has always been on the list of the country’s top seafood exporters with seafood exports exceeding over one billion US dollars in the three consecutive years of 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Bui Chi Thuong, an experienced shrimp farmer in Nam Can district, said, “My shrimp farming area covers 3ha. I earn about two billion dong (84,000 US dollars) for two crops each year after all expenses. Each crop takes about 90-100 days”.
With a strategy to develop a sustainable seafood industry, adapt to climate change, and focus on wide international integration, Ca Mau can confidently move towards the goal of achieving an export turnover of 1.65 billion US dollars by 2030.
Besides its potential for seafood, Ca Mau also has a great advantage in developing logistics services thanks to being located at the center of the seaway in Southeast Asia, adjacent to the waters of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia and belonging to the Southern Economic Corridor under the Greater Mekong Sub-region Economic Cooperation Program. Ca Mau also has the Hon Khoai islands which are eligible to be built into a large-scale general seaport. These are the strengths that help Ca Mau become a center of logistics services, connecting trade activities of the Mekong Delta on the Southern Economic Corridor under the Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Program.
Clean energy and renewable energy is also another advantage of Ca Mau which is not only capable of making a great contribution to the national energy source, but also helps ensure the local energy security to accelerate socio-economic development. It also demonstrates the green growth commitment and affirms Vietnam's marine economic development strategy.
According to the plan to 2030, Ca Mau will have 3,607MW of wind power. Currently, there are three wind power plants that have been put into operation and connected to the 100MW national grid. In the future, the province will continue to implement more projects with the target of contributing over 6,500MW of wind power to the national electric power system.
Besides wind power, Ca Mau is asking for more gas and solar power projects in its plan.
With the great potentials of marine economy and clean energy, and being convenient for international sea trade as well as connecting within the Mekong Delta through a system of rivers, roads and air routes, Ca Mau is on the edge for socio-economic development to become an important growth area of the "Land of Nine Dragons".
The Strength of Tourism in the “Land of Nine Dragons”
Located in the southernmost part of the country, Ca Mau is an area of wild and charming nature with forests, the sea and the life imbued with the cultural identity of the western region. Ca Mau is also in the Southern Development Corridor of the Greater Mekong Subregion Development Cooperation Program, so it has favorable conditions for trade and tourism development with Southeast Asian countries.
In the Mekong Delta, Ca Mau has a great advantage because it is adjacent to the popular coastal tourist city of Phu Quoc and close to Can Tho, the tourism center of the Mekong Delta.
In the Mekong Delta region, there are four airports of Can Tho, Phu Quoc, Ca Mau and Rach Gia, including two that are international airports, so it is also very convenient to connect international tourists from Phu Quoc and Can Tho to Ca Mau.
The Hon Khoai general seaport project, once approved and invested by the government, will also have a great influence on the province's sea tourism.
In terms of heritage potential, Ca Mau currently has 12 national monuments, 32 provincial relics and more than 40 intangible cultural heritages. Of these, three are recognized as national intangible cultural heritages, including the art of Don ca tai tu in the South, the unique craft of gac keo ong (literally, luring bees to build nests on sloping wooden poles) and the traditional craft of making ba khia (three-striped crab) sauce.
Ca Mau has two popular eco-tourism destinations, Mui Ca Mau National Park and U Minh Ha National Park, which were listed by UNESCO as World Biosphere Reserves. In 2013, Mui Ca Mau (Ca Mau Cape) National Park was recognized as a new Ramsar site and the fifth in Vietnam.
Ca Mau Cape National Park is the largest primary mangrove forest in the country, adjacent to the East Sea and the West Sea. This place has a very rich diversity of flora and fauna with about 27/32 species of mangroves, about 26 species of mammals, 93 species of birds, 43 species of reptiles, 139 species of fish, nine species of amphibians and many other rare species. Of these, there are two species listed in the world's red book, long-tailed monkeys and silver langurs and four species listed in Vietnam’s Red Book.
Visiting Ca Mau Cape, one can travel by motorboat through the mangrove forests to see the wonderful ecosystem or stop at the model of a forest village to learn more about the life of soldiers and people of the southwestern region during the resistance war against the US, and experience the southwestern watery life such as catching three-striped crabs and fishing.
Ca Mau is also a popular place for great cuisine with many specialties such as salted three stripped crabs, pomfrets, fish sauce, mudskipper grilled with salt and pepper, mullet braised with sugarcane, clams steamed with ginger and grilled oysters. Ca mau crab is especially worth trying.
In recent years, Ca Mau province has focused on promoting eco-tourism development, and developing community-based tourism with tours of trekking in forests or visiting coastal alluvial grounds.
According to its development orientation, Ca Mau will focus on developing the tourism economy in a sustainable way, preserving national cultural identities and promoting the natural values of tourism resources. Developing tourism based on nature with the participation of the community, combining tourism development with new rural construction, developing Ca Mau tourism in association with the general tourism development of other provinces and cities in the region and in the whole country.
The Dat Mui boat symbol at the Ca Mau Cape National Tourism Area. Photo: Huynh Lam
Ca Mau is one of the four key economic provinces and cities of the Mekong Delta. According to the province’s orientation, economic development must be closely linked with environmental protection, proactively adapt to climate change, and effectively prevent and control epidemics. It also focuses on developing the marine economy, tourism and renewable energy in order to effectively create the potential and advantages of the province, making breakthroughs in rapid and sustainable economic development.
Story: Thong Hai/VNP Photos: Le Nguyen, Nguyen Thang, Huynh Lam, Le Minh, Hoang Ha & Hieu Nguyen
Translated by Hong Hanh