The 18th session opening of the eighth tenure’s Provincial People’s Council: Socio-economic maintains high growth rates

Morning Dec 8, the eighth tenure’s Provincial People’s Council convened the 18th session. Tran Van Nam, Secretary of Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of Provincial People’s Committee; Pham Van Canh, Permanent Deputy Secretary of Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of Provincial People’s Council; Tran Thanh Liem, Deputy Secretary of Provincial Party Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of Provincial People's Committee; and former provincial leaders, provincial NA’s delegation, People’s Councils of districts, towns and city… attended the meeting.

Growth surpasses targets

Opening the session, Pham Van Canh, Permanent Deputy Secretary of Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of Provincial People’s Council, stressed this was a regular and important meeting at year-end. At this session, Provincial People’s Council would consider and decide many contents. The most important content was to assess the results of socio-economic, defense - security, and government building of the province in 2015, and set up plans for 2016. 2016 is the first implementation year of the 12^th National Party Resolution and the 10^th Provincial Party Resolution. Thus, the development and successful implementation of targets in 2016 is very important, paving the way for the province to grow rapidly and sustainably. PPC must have detailed plans, solutions to mobilize all resources, and specific assignment in order to bring Binh Duong to type-1 urban directly under the Central before 2020 that was set by Provincial Party Resolution.

Briefing on socio-economic, defense – security results in 2015 and orientations, tasks in 2016, Tran Thanh Liem, Deputy Secretary of Provincial Party Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of Provincial People's Committee, in 2015, despite of many difficulties, socio-economic field kept up high growth and achieved comprehensive results. 22/25 targets were achieved and surpassed, the remaining targets were still higher than in 2014.

Namely, GRDP increased 13.2% (target 13%); GRDP per capita reached VND 73.1 million; provincial economic structure developed rightly with industry - service - agriculture corresponding to 60% - 37.3% - 2.7%. The economy was restructured properly, capital and market shortages were handled, facilitating the recovery and thriving of industrial production. Index of industrial production (IIP) rose 10.3%. Industrial production value was estimated at VND 217,211 billion, increasing 15.8%; including 14.8% of domestic sector and 16.3% of FDI sector. 24/27 industrial product groups increased over the same period, including 13 groups with a growth of over 10%...

One bright spot in economic development in 2015 was FDI attraction. In 2015, the province absorbed VND 18,242 billion of FDI capital, increasing 84% year-on-year. There were 2,899 new business registrations with total capital of VND 10,538 billion, and 335 businesses to add more capital worth totally VND 7,704 billion. The province has now 20,422 registered businesses with total capital of VND 148,911 billion. Specifically, in 2015, the province attracted $ 1.7 billion of FDI capital, increasing 11.1%, including $1,566 billion from industrial parks, accounting for 92.1%.

Ensuring social security

Along with economic development, the province mobilized more resources to care for policy, social beneficiaries, armed forces, and workers. The people’s life quality was improved. People’s healthcare has good changes. Education – training continued to gain good results. Cultural, art, information and propaganda activities were well organized, especially activities to commemorate big holidays.

In 2015, the province spent about VND 850 billion (including VND 520 billion of local budget) on activities caring policy, social beneficiaries; constructing and repairing 275 gratitude houses and 122 great unity houses; offering furniture to policy families. The province conferred “Vietnamese heroic mother” title on 432 mothers; implemented drastically measures of hunger elimination poverty reduction according to provincial criteria; by the end of 2015, the province had 1,832 poor households, making 0.64%; 4,027 near-poor households, making up 1.4%.

Striving for higher economic growth

Mr. Liem said, based on achieved results, difficulties in 2015, and Party Resolution’s objectives, PPC identified the overall objective in 2016: to ensure economic stability, higher economic growth rate than in 2015; enhancing the implementation of Provincial Party’s action programs; restructure the economy towards a rapid and sustainable development, enhancing productivity, efficiency and competitiveness; bettering socio-economic infrastructure, fostering urban – services; proactively responding to climate change, efficiently managing natural resources and environmental protection; enhancing national target program of new rural construction; implementing drastically solutions for sustainable poverty eradication; ensuring social security, improving the people’s material and spiritual life; strengthening national defense - security, political stability, social order and safety; accelerating administrative procedure reform, anti-corruption, thrift practice; improving foreign affairs.

PPC worked out development orientations for each sectors. Regarding economic sector, the province will focus on improving the quality, efficiency and competitiveness of industrial production; encourage the development of supporting industries, industries catering for agricultural production; keep improving the investment environment to motivate production, investment attraction after TPP; enhance investment attraction according to provincial planning; limit investment licensing outside industrial parks; transfer use purposes of some southern industrial parks for service – trade development.

Besides, the province will implement solutions to rapidly develop services, especially industries with high advantages, technologies, and high added value; call for investments in markets, supermarkets, trade centers according to planning, and reorganize market order, urban face; promoting market stabilization programs accompanied by “Vietnamese people give priority to Vietnamese goods” campaign; strengthen market management, combat smuggling and commercial frauds, counterfeiting to protect consumer’s interests and to create an environment for fair competition; enhance trade promotion, market expansion.

The province will mobilize resources for key projects, implement Binh Duong urban development program in the 2016-2020 associated with the general planning for urban development, strictly manage investments in residential areas, social housing…

Reported by Thu Thao – Translated by Ngoc Huynh