Gia Lai is leveraging its rich natural resources and strong wind and solar potential to position itself as a renewable energy hub in the Central and Central Highlands regions.
In an interview with Gia Lai Newspaper and Radio & Television, Nguyễn Hữu Quế, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee, discussed the province’s priorities for sustainable energy development, environmental protection, and investment attraction.
▪How do you assess the potential and role of renewable energy in Gia Lai’s socio-economic development?
Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee Nguyễn Hữu Quế. Photo: Provided by the interviewee
- Gia Lai, with more than 21,576 km² of land and a 134-km coastline, holds major advantages in geography, climate, and natural resources. These conditions support a wide range of renewable energy sources, including onshore and offshore wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, waste-to-energy, and geothermal energy.
We are gradually unlocking this potential with the goal of becoming a leading renewable energy center and a driving force for green growth in the region. Clean energy development enables us to restructure the economy, urban areas, and industry toward sustainability and long-term efficiency. It also supports the national shift to a green and circular economy, tied to digital transformation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
According to the National Power Development Plan for 2021–2030, with a vision to 2050 (Power Plan VIII), renewable energy capacity in Gia Lai is expected to reach about 9,657 MW by 2035, with an additional pipeline of more than 23,000 MW in potential projects.
We currently have 85 renewable energy projects in commercial operation, totaling 4,179 MW. These projects play a significant role in economic growth, grid development, and job creation for thousands of local workers. They establish the foundation for Gia Lai’s aspiration to achieve double-digit economic growth in the 2026–2030 period.
Ia Pết Wind Power Plant (Ia Băng commune). Photo: Hà Duy
▪What measures does the province prioritize to ensure renewable energy development aligns with environmental protection and local livelihoods?
- Our principle is clear: renewable energy must harmonize economic, environmental, and social benefits. We require strict oversight of technology and equipment, banning outdated or energy-intensive systems that could harm the environment.
Authorities strengthen supervision of investor commitments, environmental safeguards, project capacity, and energy efficiency. We prioritize projects located on arid land, degraded land, low-yield agricultural areas, or inefficient production forests. No new projects are permitted in special-use or protective forests.
Projects must minimize resettlement and relocation, and investors are encouraged to hire local workers. We also mobilize resources to support the energy transition by balancing the interests of the State, investors, and local communities.
The province promotes international cooperation in climate response, technology transfer, and green innovation. We invest heavily in science, technology, and digital transformation, while training high-quality human resources for the renewable energy sector. Strengthening the link between research institutes, universities, and enterprises remains a core strategy for sustainable development.
Krông Pa Solar Power Plant with a capacity of 49 MW. Photo: Provided by the unit
▪What are the province’s priority orientations and key policies to attract renewable energy investment in the coming period?
- Our vision is to integrate clean energy with green industry, high-tech agriculture, logistics, and digital transformation. This supports the national circular economy action plan through 2035.
Based on the Resolution of the First Provincial Party Congress, we have outlined five investment priorities:
First, integrate renewable energy with circular-economy sectors, focusing on green industry, high-tech agriculture, modern logistics, and digital transformation to build sustainable value chains.
Second, develop carbon-neutral and eco-industrial parks, smart industrial zones, eco-residential areas, and smart grids. These will help establish Gia Lai as a regional center for green energy and ecological urban development.
Third, ensure a transparent, predictable investment environment by publicly disclosing planning documents and project lists, encouraging private sector participation.
Fourth, selectively attract investors in industries powered by green electricity—such as agricultural processing with near-zero carbon emissions, new materials, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and other high-tech sectors. We also prioritize the adoption of modern, environmentally friendly technology.
Fifth, build a comprehensive service and maintenance supply chain for the renewable energy sector, and establish a provincial Renewable Energy Human Resource Training and Development Center to create high-skill technical jobs and improve income levels.
To realize these goals, Gia Lai continues to propose mechanisms enabling private investment in transmission grids, adjustments to renewable energy capacity based on provincial potential, and expanded local authority in project management.
At the same time, we will implement policies to attract high-tech, eco-friendly investment aligned with circular-economy and green-growth models, while closely supporting businesses to ensure project progress and socio-economic development.
Gia Lai province has approved the investment policy for a supermarket project in Phu Cat commune with an estimated cost of more than VND 66.6 billion (approximately US$2.54 million). An investor will be selected through a land use rights auction.
Farmers in Gia Lai province are adopting certified production standards and forming sweet potato and cattle farming groups as they seek to improve product quality, strengthen market access and increase income.
People’s credit funds in Gia Lai province are helping rural households finance farms and expand businesses, with all 33 funds reporting profitable operations, according to the Provincial Cooperative Alliance.
Gia Lai’s 846 certified OCOP products must maintain quality standards and meet labeling and traceability requirements as producers expand into retail networks, e-commerce and export markets, provincial officials and businesses say.
Gia Lai completed 18 trade promotion programmes and events in the first nine months of 2026, meeting its planned targets and helping local agricultural producers connect with retailers, overseas buyers and online customers.
Gia Lai authorities have called for faster investment approvals and greater business investment in technology to help the province achieve double-digit economic growth.
The Gia Lai Young Entrepreneurs Association plans to launch a supply-chain pilot for businesses serving the wood processing and export sector, aiming to help five to 10 companies secure new orders or contracts in its first year.
Gia Lai province has approved an ethanol plant investment by Quang Ngai Sugar Joint Stock Company (QNS) worth VND 1,741.844 billion (approximately US$69.7 million, using an indicative rate of VND 25,000 per US$1), with operations scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2028.
Thinh Phat–Muyuan Gia Lai Co. Ltd. began construction on a VND 3.615 trillion ($144.6 million) pig farming and animal feed complex in Po To commune on October 11, as Gia Lai province seeks to expand industrial livestock production.
Gia Lai province is standardising data on coffee and durian growing areas across 61 communes and wards to improve traceability and meet export market requirements as new rules simplify the issuance of growing-area codes.
Pharmacist Võ Minh Mơ, director of Huong Que B’RÊ Co., Ltd., has built her entrepreneurial journey around cinnamon, a key agricultural product of An Lão in Gia Lai province.
Land clearance for the first 22km of the Quy Nhon–Pleiku Expressway has reached 99.5%, while construction is accelerating across the project, according to a site inspection by Gia Lai Provincial People’s Committee Chairman Pham Anh Tuan on September 27.
Vietnam’s Gia Lai province is seeking to deepen ties with Australian investors in renewable energy, transport infrastructure, seaports and logistics as it looks to capitalize on its expanded development space and strategic location.
Gia Lai province recorded 2,739 newly established enterprises in the first nine months of 2026, up about 19.13% from the same period last year, with total registered capital reaching VND 40,154 billion (about US$1.52 billion), an increase of approximately 135%.
Gia Lai is exploring cooperation opportunities with French partners in education, sports, renewable energy and high-tech agriculture following a meeting between Professor Co Minh Duc and the Gia Lai Provincial Business Association on September 28.
Gia Lai coffee brands are gaining a foothold in the United States as producers shift from exporting raw beans to processed, branded products aimed at a demanding consumer market.
Gia Lai Urban Works Joint Stock Company on September 22 broke ground on a construction waste treatment and recycling plant with an investment of more than VND 57.5 billion (about US$2.18 million), designed to process 480 tonnes of waste a day.
(GLO) – Green transformation, digitalization, enhanced connectivity, and the development of logistics chains are emerging as key requirements for Vietnam’s seaport industry. These topics are the focus of discussion at the 2026 Annual VPA Conference held in Gia Lai.
Gia Lai Province aims to increase annual e-commerce sales of priority products by 15-20% under a new plan designed to expand market access and narrow the digital divide in border and mountainous areas.
Gia Lai Provincial People’s Committee Chairman Pham Anh Tuan attended the Vietnam Innovation Day 2026 Forum in Berlin on September 17, highlighting opportunities for Vietnam-Germany cooperation in science, technology, innovation and the digital economy.
Gia Lai is seeking to deepen investment ties with German businesses, with a focus on agriculture, processing, technology transfer and green development, as the Vietnamese province looks to attract foreign investment.
Gia Lai is seeking to establish a direct agricultural export route to China through the Ta Lung International Border Gate in Cao Bang province, as local authorities and businesses look to reduce logistics costs, strengthen processing capacity and increase the value of key agricultural products.
Gia Lai aims to expand medicinal plant cultivation from nearly 1,500 hectares currently to more than 7,486 hectares by 2030, with a focus on growing herbs under forest canopies while conserving natural resources and supporting local livelihoods.
Gia Lai Province is seeking to expand investment, trade and tourism cooperation with Portuguese businesses, as it stepped up economic engagement with the city of Guarda following the signing of a cooperation agreement between the two local authorities.
