Geographic location : Vinh Phuc is bounded by Thai Nguyen and Tuyen Quang to the North, by Phu Tho to the West, by Ha Tay to the South and Hanoi to the East.
Area: 1,373.2 km2
Topographic features: Vinh Phuc is situated in the top of Red river Delta and is the meeting point between plain and mountains. Therefore, it is divided into 3 regions: plain in the South of the province, midland in the North and mountains in Tam Dao district
Administrative units: The province is divided into 1 town (Phuc Yen) and 7 districts: Binh Xuyen, Lap Thach, Me Linh, Tam Duong, Tam Dao, Vinh Tuong, Yen Lac.
Population: 1,190,400
Forest resources: Forest land in the province is now 30,236.08 ha, making up 22.0% of the total natural area. In which, natural forest is 9,591.47 ha (2003), accounting for 31.72% of the total forest land, artificial forest is 20,640.87 ha, making up 68.27%. The forest coverage of the province in 2004 reaches 23.14% and estimate 23.7% in 2005.
Forest land of the province has tendency to increase from 26,007.92 ha in 1997 to 30,236.08 ha in 2003, in which artificial forest much increases from 15,434.52 ha in 1997 to 20,640.87 ha in 2003; however, natural forest reduces about 1,000 ha. The most important goal for the forest here is to protect environment, ensure ecological balance, control farming land erosion, minimize flood in lowlands area and develop tourism. Recovering the lost forest, planting and recreating forest is one of tasks which need to have special consideration in provincial programs of ecological environment protection.
– Tourism resources: Vinh Phuc is endowed by nature with beautiful landscapes such as Tam Dao, Tay Thien, Dai Lai, Dam Vac, etc. Tam Dao tourism spot is considered one of the best place of interest in the Northern Vietnam. And Thac Bac, Xa Huong lake, Lang Ha dam and primeval forests, etc will be unforgotten memory of any visitor.
– Human resources: The province’s labour force is abundant, accounting for 61.6% of the total population. There are many universities, professional, vocational schools at central level located near the province. The province has 20,000 pupils and 10,000 school graduates each year. Therefore, the local labour force can meet the demand for economic development in term of quantity and quality”
“Transportation system: The system is convenient with roadway, railway and waterway. Besides, the province is situated near Noi Bai International Airport. There are 4 national highways No. 2, 2B, 2C and 23 running through the province. Hanoi – Lai Cai railway route (linking to Yunnan, China) runs through the province. There are several large rivers (Lo, Pho Day and Red rivers) running through the province, which creates favourable conditions for constructing Chu Phan, Vinh Thinh and Nhu Thuy Ports for transportation of materials, goods, equipment, facilities from Hai Phong, Quang Ninh seaports to the province.
– Water and Power supply sytem: The system is quite complete meeting the demand of households and production. There are two 110 kV transformer stations, one in Vinh Yen with the capacity of 65,000 KVA, the other in Phuc Yen with the capacity of 40,000 KVA. There are 2 big water supply plants, supported by ODA from Governments of Denmark and Italy: one in Vinh Yen with the capacity of16,000 m3/day and the other in Me Linh with the capacity of 20,000 m3/per day. Surface water resources in the province is abundant due to the two river of Red River and Lo River along with small river system and a variety of reservoir which reserve a huge water amount, and sufficiently supply for production and life of the local inhabitants.
Underground water resources has small amount, about 1 million m3/ day and night, Some places are under exploitation having volume of 92,450 m3/day and night, in which A and B level are 18,600 m3/ day and night.
Although the water resources in the province are quite abundant, they do not distribute the same in a year. In the dry season, the shortage of water still happens, especially high mountainous and midland districts (Lap Thach, Tam Duong, Binh Xuyen). In order to harmoniously ensure the water supply for economic development, it is necessary to take more consideration in establish additional water regulating works and have measures to exploit supplementary underground water.
– Flora and Fauna in Vinh Phuc
Vegetation here is clearly shown in the common background of tropical monsoon forest. At the end of Pleistocen and Holocen, in Vinh Phuc province, thick forest not only covered Tam Dao mountain range with many kinds of precious and rare wood, but also covered the up and down hill and mound areas and even lowland area from Lap Thach, Tam Duong through Binh Xuyen, Me Linh is also vast forest.
Through thousands, ten thousands years under exploitation, serious destruction, and lowland becomes well-off villages, green fields; mound and hill become bare and impoverished; high mountainous area in Tam Dao has been much destroyed. However, nowadays Tam Dao is still considered as vast bio-diversity area. From that we can know how plentiful the flora and fauna potential in the prehistory was.
Recently, through preliminary survey, botanists have give statistic that there are 130 groups, 344 branches, 490 species of higher plants. In which, psilotophyta has 21 groups, 32 branches, 53 species; Angiosperm has 102 groups, 305 branches, 426 species. In term of use, it is possible to classify plant in Tam Dao forest into the following groups: group supplying wood of 83 species, group used as vegetable of 54 species, group used as drug of 214 species, and group giving fruit of 62 species. Of which, there are many species having highly economic value such as Fokienia hodginsii (Dunn), La Han, pedocarpus fleurgi, Sam pong, Aloewood. These precious and rare plants concentrate in Rung Rinh Peak and distribute at the hight of over 800 m. The four species of wood of construction, ironwood, bassia, teakwood, textured wood, many precious medicinal plants like amomun, araliaceous, multiflorous knotweed, etc., and many other types of trees appear in the mountainous area of Tam Dao.
In term of fauna, the statistic shows that Tam Dao forest has 4 classes, 26 sets, 86 groups, 281 species. In which, amphibian has 19 species, especially Tam Dao snake-heah fish is taken into Vietnam Red Book, is an extremely precious and rare animal. Reptile has 46 species, of which gecko, varan, lizard are the species with a great number. The most density is bird class which has 158 species, of which there are many specious and rare species such as white pheasant, grey peacock. Beast class has 58 species, big species such as bear, tiger, panther; small species such as civet, squirrel, mouse, stag, deer, muntjac, etc., some other species have highly scientific value….
Among hundreds of animals in the mountainous area of Tam Dao, there are 47 species being considered as precious and rare animals of which some species are in the edge of extinction. Nowadays, Tam Dao national Garden is still considered as invaluable natural museum. It is certain that in the Pleistocene and Holocene, not only Tam Dao Mountain, but also the whole province of Vinh Phuc is a very plentiful animal and plant community, important foodstuff supply for the human at that time, especially in the period when human beings lived on hunting and gathering.
In addition, three sides of Vinh Phuc is bordered by big river, there are many large and small lake and lagoon in all districts which not only are the important water supply but they are necessary foodstuff supply for human life. These are aquatic products such as fish, shrimp, crab, shell-fish, mussel, etc., of which some have been well known up to now like Anh Vu fish in the Red River bed in Viet Tri-Bach Hac which is considered as a special product, a precious fish of Vinh Phuc. Besides, mussel in the Phan River bed is now a special dish of local people in Yen Lac. Certainly, local people have exploited mussel and used mussel as food for a long time. In archeological site Yen Lac, many burnt mussel shells are discovered which vividly and specifically proves that people used mussel as food in the past.
Mineral resources
Mineral resources in Vinh Phuc have not been deeply and thoroughly surveyed, but according to the preliminary assessment, it is possible to classify into the following groups:
a- Fuel mineral: including antraxit coal with the amount of some 1,000 tons in Dao Tru- Lap Thach; brown coal in communes of Bach Luu, Dong Thinh (Lap Thach) with the amount of thousands tons; peat in Van Quan (Lap Thach); Hoang Dan, Hoang Lau (Tam Duong) with the amount (P2 level) of 693,600 tons, which is exploited to use as fertilizer and fuel.
b- Metal mineral: including Barite, copper, gold, tin, iron, etc. These minerals are mainly discovered in Tam Dao fault area and scattered in Lap Thach district, Tam Duong district and Binh Xuyen district. In general, these minerals are poor and are not thoroughly researched; therefore, they have not served the provincial economic development.
c- Non-metal mineral: non-metal mineral is mainly ‘cao lanh’, which has weathered origin from different kinds of soil and stones, here there are about three mines and one ore point with the amount of some 4 millions tons, concentrated in Tam Duong, VinhYen, Lap Thach. ‘Cao lanh’ in Vinh Phuc is used as the material to produce fire-brick, pottery, and porcelain; as the additive substances for paint, rubber, photographic paper, money printing-paper, etc. ‘Cao lanh’ mines have been exploited since 1965, thousands tons are consumed every year. Besides, in the province, there are 6 Puzolan with the total amount of 4.2 millions tons.
d- Building material: including brick and tile clay, about 10 mines with the total amount of 51.8 millions m3, lowland clay, hill clay, black grey clay, brown grey clay, sand and gravel in the river bed and building sand, pebble, gravel (there are 4 mines with the total amount of 4.75 millions m3) and building stone and ashlar facing stone (granite and riolit) (there are 3 mines with the total amount of 307 millions m3); There are 03 laterite mines with total amount of 49 millions m3; Fenspat has 1 point and has not been evaluated in term of volume.
In general, Vinh Phuc is poor in precious and rare mineral province. The mineral which can be exploited in a long term is building material (building stone, granite, sand and gravel).
Fenspat – potential mineral in Vinh Phuc
Fenspat is a group of mineral which has chemical formular: a(b+8) in which a includes elements K; Na; Ca; Ba; b includes elements Si; Al. Fenspat also contains a small amount of elements iron, liti, ruby, mage, etc. The crystal has framework structure. Basis network has close size. Fenspat has light color or dark color, glass-light, hardness 6, density 2.6-3.4, and fragileness. Fenspat mainly appears in many types of rocks, especially magma and degenerate stone. In term of quantity, Fenspat makes up nearly 50% of the earth’s crust weight.
The most valuable to ceramic, porcelain and glass technology is Fenspat Kali- Natri. The fenspat amount put into the ceramic and porcelain depends on each kind of commodity. For porcelain, it makes up 30%, in the glaze component, it accounts for 33-46%, for glazed terra-cotta, it is 20-22%. In the glass component, the elements of SiO2, Al2O3, Na2O, CaO and MgO are the main elements. The most important meaning to evaluate the benefit of fenspat and pegmatite used to make glass is the highest content of K2O and Na2O
In the production of opaque glaze (different from transparent glaze to cover porcelain), opaque glaze is used to cover cast iron and iron. Fenspat taking part in the opaque glaze component increases thickness and chemical endurance. The fenspat component in opaque glaze ranges from 20-30% for iron.
In the production technology of whet material, fenspat is used as sticky matter when making polish plate. The content of fenspat in the network connecting emery ranges from 28-45%. Besides, fenspat is also used in production technology of soap, false tooth, tile, concrete, brick, etc…
In conclusion, fenspat is the substance helping melt in making glass, ceramic and porcelain products. The quality of fenspat and its benefit depend on chemical component as well as the property of sub-materials inside fenspat when being formed in mines. One mines of fenspat cannot meet all the demands of manufacturer for quality, so we have to organize researching the quality to classify and select mineral appropriately, and to make use of most natural resources.
Vinh Phuc has an ancient stone formation of Proterozoi (PR), stretches from Lap Thach through Vinh Yen to Phuc Yen. In this formation, there are magma stones such as granite in Sang Mountain, Bau Mountain, Ngang Mountain and Dinh Trung. Surrounding these magma stones, operation of pegmatite creates some fenspat mines which have industrial value.
Since Vinh Phuc was reestablished in 1997, Industry sector has granted permission to exploit 5 mines (4 mines in Lap Thach and 1 mine in Tam Duong) with the total amount of more than 430 thousands tons ore. For fenspat mines which are originated from pegmatite or granite in the world and Vietnam, before being put into exploitation, have been surveyed to research on quality and estimate the quantity. National or regional review Board assesses and approves. For fenspat mines in Vinh Phuc, after being discovered, investor asks for permission to exploit immediately, omit many processes. Some mines have unstable quality, changeable scope leading to economic damage. In Khe Doc mines (Lap Thach), mine owner has dug thousands of m3 soil, but the ore point is too small to exploit. Vinh Phuc processing, import and export Co, Ltd., exploited thousands tons of fenspat ore in Gai mound, Quan Noi village, Tam Quan commune (Tam Duong) without investing in fully scientific researching on the quality. Therefore when consuming the product, the company met many difficulties. The commodities which need a large amount of fenspat such as paved-brick in Vinh Phuc also refuse to use thousands tons of ore of that company. This causes much damage to the company in both terms of prestige and economy.
In order to orient the sustainable development of fenspat mines in Vinh Phuc, Department of Science and Technology established the project “ research on the quality and distribution scope of fenspat mines in Vinh Phuc, propose more appropriate using objective and exploitation methods”. This project will help with granting permission and organizing exploitation of fenspat ore in the locality, bring about highly economic effect. It is necessary to protect mineral resources in Vinh Phuc as well as environment in mine exploitation site.
Natural tourism and humanity resources.
Vinh Phuc has big potential about natural tourism and humanity. Here, there is a group of famous natural landscape such as Tam Dao national forest, Ban Long Fall, Bo Lac Lake, Dai Lai reservoir, Lang Ha reservoir, many folk festivals, and many historical, cultural relics such as Tay Thien, Binh Son Tower, Tran Nguyen Han temple, Dong Dau archeological site.
Up to now, investing and exploiting these tourism resources serving economic development is very limited.
– Industrial zones: Vinh Phuc has 10 industrial zones and clusters: Tan Tien with the area of 126 hectares in Chan Hung commune, Vinh Tuong district, Khai Quang with the area of 275 hectares in Vinh Yen city, Xuan Hoa with the area of 70 hectares in Me Linh district, Huong Canh with the area of 40 hectares in Huong Canh townlet, Lai Son with the area of 20 hectares in Vinh Yen city, Tien Phong with the area of 60 hectares in Me Linh district, Kim Hoa with the area of 56 hectares in Me Linh district and Phuc Yen city, Binh Xuyen with the area of 1,000 hectares in Binh Xuyen district”
“Sectors’ development plan:
+ Services: It is planned to reach the rate of 9% for the period 2006-2010 with focus on properly planning, managing and exploiting tourism spots such as Tam Dao, Dai Lai, Tay Thien, Vac lagoon, restoring cultural and historical monuments such as Trung Trac-Trung Nhi Temple, Tran Nguyen Han temple, Dong Dau, promoting proper protection, exploitation, restoration of cultural and tourism resources to make Vinh Phuc become one of the most attractive tourism centers in Vietnam.
+ Agriculture-Forestry-Fishery : It is planned to reach the rate of 11.4% for the period 2006-2010. Agriculture: domestic animal and plant structure will be changed to commodity production with focus on high economically valuable products: crops, short-term industrial crops, clean vegetables, mushrooms for domestic and foreign markets, especially for Hanoi markets; Forestry: It will be developed with newly planting of 6,000 hectares of centred forests, taking care of 15,000 hectares of protection and specialized forests; Fishery: 6,000 hectares of waterlogged are a will be restored to be place for aquaculture of new good breeds such as white butterfish, unsexed anabas, etc.
+ Industry: It is planned to reach the growth rate of 11.4% for the period 2006-2010 with completion of planning and infrastructure construction of industrial zones and clusters; planning of small industrial zones (5-10 hectares each) for handicraft villages and developing them into traditional village industrial zones to make full use of the professions, create jobs, stable income, production for export, change the economic structure in a positive way, reduce environmental pollution in traditional villages.
Source :en.vietnamexport.com