Pioneering in evolution

On the days towards the 25th anniversary of Binh Duong's construction and development, Binh Duong Newspaper had the opportunity to meet and talk to comrade Ho Minh Phuong, former Chairman of provincial People's Committee to hear stories about the process of separating Song Be province, and then starting a Binh Duong pioneering in the process of industrialization and modernization...

The factor for Binh Duong taking fruits in industrial development at that time was the creativeness in this field

Sharing the Be River

 - Regarding the event of splitting Song Be province 25 years ago, what do you think about this historic decision?

- Song Be used to have a large area of 1 million hectares, more than 200 kilometers of border line and many ethnic minorities. This made it difficult for administration. At that time, when there was a central policy on splitting the province, the Standing Board of provincial Party Committee reached high unanimity. Some other provinces were split, so Song Be also had to separate to have conditions for development. The economic situation of Song Be at that time was still difficult with limited State budget. Separation must ensure the principle of internal solidarity, finance... The northern economy of the province at that time was mainly agricultural production. Therefore, when being separated, Binh Duong has always accompanied and supported Binh Phuoc wholeheartedly, considering Binh Phuoc as a twin brother.

As for Binh Duong, when being separated from Song Be province, it had more favorable conditions because of being smaller. Especially, some areas in the southern region had the seeds of industrial and service development. From that, we realized that when being separated, Binh Duong had the opportunity to participate in the southern key economic region in a worthy way.

Proudly rising

- When being separated from Song Be province, how was Binh Duong determined to speed up the process of industrialization and modernization?

- Binh Duong at that time was very determined, setting the goal of not being inferior to any other locality in the region. In the early 1990s, the province had a number of industrial parks, namely Song Than, Binh Duong. The province also discussed the construction of Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP I) in 1996. Since then, the province has decided to focus on developing a number of IPs, identifying key tasks.

At that time, I received Lee Kuan Yew, former Prime Minister of Singapore twice. We secured our promise to him to do VSIP I. When he first came to learn about the local investment climate, there were many things he doubted. He only asked a few questions on traffic, human resources… but they were difficult for us to answer. He asked whether the province could invest in construction of the National Highway 13 because it was managed by the Government. Therefore, the province must ensure the proposal of building this road to central authorities. The Ministry of Planning & Investment, the Ministry of Finance also promised to offer help to the province… Upon this, the project of building the National Highway 13 was implemented. At that time, no province dared invest in building such a national highway.

- At that time, what were the fundamental factors for Binh Duong to rise up?

- The factor for Binh Duong taking fruits in industrial development at that time was the creativeness in this field with a pioneering spirit. At that time, the province was determined to set up industrial parks for the local common development. Three forms of investment in industrial park construction at that time were the State-owned joint venture with foreign investors (VSIP I), the State-owned investment (Song Than I Industrial Park) and especially the model for the private economy to invest in the industrial park (Dong An Industrial Park). At that time, it was not easy for the private sector to set up industrial parks. The province must persevere in proposing the policy to the Government for approval and implementation.

Another important factor was that in the direction and administration, the province selected breakthroughs, key projects for investment, and opened up development for other fields. And, the province decided to build the National Highway 13, helping absorb enterprises making investment in VSIP I, My Phuoc IPs 1, 2, 3.... Without making the National Highway 13, the local problem of attracting investment cannot be solved. At that time, Binh Duong decided to do a number of such key projects to pave the way for development.

"Good land for birds to perch"

 - Binh Duong does not have a seaport, an airport, which is a difficulty in the local development process. How could the province overcome this difficulty?

There is no seaport or airport, but if knowing how to develop, we can still turn these difficulties into advantages. This is because Binh Duong to seaports, the airport is not too far. Hence, strategic roads like National Highway 13 must be widened…At that time, Binh Duong continued carrying out the slogan of "rolling out the flowered mat to call for investment", then the slogan of "rolling out the red carpet to attract talents". Binh Duong has always proactively set out policies in advance, especially in treating investors…

Along with investing in key projects, Binh Duong stepped up administrative reform, creating the most favorable conditions for investors. Before that, investors had to go to all functional departments and sectors to do relevant administrative procedures, making enterprises face difficulties. I did not agree with that so that provincial Department of Planning and Investment was assigned to take full responsibility. Every Thursday, provincial Department of Planning and Investment and relevant agencies reported to provincial People's Committee on administrative procedures work…

- Looking back at Binh Duong’s 25-year journey of construction and development, what are the things you feel interesting?

- That is the determination to concretize the goal of industrial and service development. From this determination, up to 2004, when I retired, I saw the appearance of the province of industry and services when industry and services accounted for more than 60% and 30% of the local economic structure, respectively. Binh Duong now has great advantages with high State budget revenue, contributing a lot to the central budget together with a synchronous and modern transport infrastructure system; a contingent of young and well-trained leaders... Therefore, the path and conditions for Binh Duong to obtain stronger development is great...

- Thank you

“The factor for Binh Duong taking fruits in industrial development at that time was the creativeness in this field with a pioneering spirit. At that time, the province was determined to develop industrial parks for the local common development. Three forms of investment in industrial park construction at that time were the State-owned joint venture with foreign investors (VSIP I), the State-owned investment (Song Than I Industrial Park) and especially the model for the private economy to invest in the industrial park (Dong An Industrial Park). At that time, it was not easy for the private sector to do industrial zones. The province must persevere in proposing the policy to the Government for approval and implementation…” (Comrade Ho Minh Phuong, former Chairman of Binh Duong provincial People's Committee)

Reported by Thanh Son-Translated by Kim Tin