Businesses have significantly contributed to empowering the rapid growth and metropolitan role of Can Tho City, as well as its impact across the Mekong Delta. Therefore, investment attraction and business development are always top priorities of the city, said Mr. Tran Viet Truong, Chairman of Can Tho People's Committee, when he talked about the determination of Can Tho government and businesses on the path to realize "aspirations for going far".
Can Tho City’s authorities meet with entrepreneurs on Oc
Can Tho becoming a centrally governed city not only lights up the desire for a development breakthrough, but also creates opportunities to boost investment attraction and business development. How do you feel about this opportunity and the two decades of effort for business development of the city?
After 20 years since becoming a centrally run city, the strategic vision of turning Can Tho into a civilized, modern, nuclear first-grade urban area and acting as a development engine for the Mekong Delta region has always been expressed throughout central and local policies and guidelines. After Resolution 45-NQ/TW of the Politburo dated February 17, 2005 on Can Tho construction and development in the era of industrialization and modernization created a foundation for Can Tho to develop into a "civilized, modern, green, clean and beautiful national delta city as a major gateway to the entire lower Mekong region; an industrial center, a trade - service center, a tourism center, an education - training and science - technology center, a medical and cultural center, and an important focal point for intra-regional transportation and international transport."
In 2009, Can Tho completed its first goal when it was recognized as a first-class centrally governed urban area. The appearance of the city changed significantly. The effective operations of complex service projects and infrastructure systems for the community enabled the city being to be honorably recognized as "Asian Urban Landscape 2016". The broad connection of road, inland waterway, maritime and aviation transport infrastructure created new momentum for the development of the city and the Mekong Delta region.
In 2020, the summary report on 15 years of implementing Resolution 45-NQ/TW of the Politburo stated that Can Tho has created a proud development milestone, become a driving force for growth and gradually asserted its role as a regional central hub of industry and services. The city aimed to be a nuclear urban area in the Mekong Delta and one of six key urban areas that implement the Vietnam urban area development project in response to climate change.
Over the past 20 years, Can Tho City has gradually improved its economic scale, reformed its growth model and enhanced its competitiveness. As a result, the city's appearance has become spacious, civilized and modern. The gross regional domestic product (GRDP) often outperforms the country. In 2004 - 2010, its GRDP expanded by an average of 15.18% a year and by 5.64% a year in 2011 - 2023. GRDP rose by 12.38% in 2022 and by estimated 6.55% in 2023. Accordingly, the GRDP was forecast to reach VND119,271 billion, 10.2 times higher than in 2004 and 3.8 times higher than in 2010.
Every year, Can Tho contributes about 1.2% of the GDP of Vietnam and 9.5% of the GRDP of the Mekong Delta. In 2023 its per capita GRDP was estimated to reach VND94.74 million, 9.2 times higher than in 2004.
The economic structure is inclined towards industry, trade and services. Science and technology are applied to raise added value, quality and efficiency. The share of industry, construction and services (including product taxes minus product subsidies) rose from 79.24% in 2004 to 84.17% in 2010 and estimated 90.47% in 2023.
With many practical solutions to investment attraction and business development, in 2004 - 2023, Can Tho licensed 22,445 companies with a total registered capital of VND153,012 billion. In 2023 alone, the city was expected to have 1,750 new companies with a total combined capital of VND12,500 billion, 4.7 times more in quantity and nearly 2 times more in value than in 2004. At present, over 10,800 companies and more than 2,000 branches and representative offices are operating in the city.
Investment attraction also increased in both scale and quality. Specifically, in 2014 - 2023, the city attracted 84 domestic direct investment projects with a total registered capital of VND81,198 billion, with 97 projects being implemented. In the last 20 years, Can Tho has also attracted 124 FDI projects with an aggregate registered capital of US$2.71 billion, including 83 active projects with US$2.27 billion.
With the specific mechanisms and policies of the central government and the municipal government, especially when Can Tho Planning for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050, is approved by the Government, how will it create a driving force for investment attraction and business development?
According to Resolution 45/2022/QH15, Can Tho City was approved by the National Assembly to pilot several specific mechanisms and policies such as financial and budgetary management; decentralized administration of land and planning. Especially, preferential policies and investment support for the dredging and product recovery project of Dinh An - Can Tho Canal and Mekong Delta agricultural product production, processing and consumption center will create advantages in investment attraction for agriculture, production, processing and logistics fields.
To concretize Resolution 45/2022/QH15, the city promulgated Plan 34/KH-UBND dated February 18, 2022 for implementation of the resolution. The city also sped up completion, approval and implementation of Can Tho Planning for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050, and many other important plans like the revised general construction planning, land-use planning in 2021 - 2025. These are important foundations for shaping development as well as for identifying priority industries and fields to call for investment capital in the coming time.
In addition, the city issued Decision 3538/QD-UBND dated November 25, 2021 approving the list of investment projects in Can Tho City in 2021 - 2025 (phase 1). At the same time, the city directed relevant agencies to further review, adjust, supplement and update this list; classify projects and synthesize the full legal basis to submit a list of land-reclaimed projects to the City People's Council for approval to lay the groundwork for selecting investors. Can Tho directly worked and provided maximum support for investors within its authority to entice giant firms to invest in key projects.
Moreover, the city has reinforced the Steering Board for Business and Investment Support to focus on research and assessment of potential, markets, trends and investment partners; provide information for potential investors to research and propose investments in the locality, strengthen the leading role in carrying out investment procedures and reducing the time to settle administrative procedures relating to investment, land and construction.
With its effort to quickly complete mechanisms and policies and materialize plans as soon as possible, the city will successfully create a new dynamic and attractive investment and business environment.
Can Tho is dramatically improving its administration effects. Can you tell us how the city will promote its achieved results?
For many consecutive years, the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) of Can Tho City has always been in the Top 20 in the country. After 16 annual editions, the city has constantly been ranked among good performers by administration quality, although its PCI standing advanced or retreated from year to year.
In the coming time, accelerating administrative reform, improving the investment environment and enhancing competitiveness will still be key tasks of the city. Can Tho will constantly reform contents and forms of implementation. The locality will focus on speeding up administrative reform, innovation and digital transformation, upholding the responsibility of leaders in performing their task of improving administration and governance indicators in the PCI Index.
The city will also continue to implement various solutions and activities to remove bottlenecks in the investment and business environment like organizing government - business dialogues to provide timely information and fully capture opinions, difficulties and problems in business; synchronously and promptly carrying out support policies; reforming and improving the effectiveness of investment and trade promotion.
Together with the PCI Index, the city will synchronously improve other performance indices such as the Satisfaction Index of Public Administrative Services (SIPAS), the Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) and the Public Administration Reform Index (PAR Index) because each index is an aspect, a multidimensional measure that helps the more effective deployment of public duties and government services.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Can Tho being a centrally governed city and welcome the upcoming Can Tho Investment Promotion Conference 2023, what commitments do you have for businesses and investors?
The Can Tho Investment Promotion Conference 2023 is an opportunity for businesses and investors to better understand the city's potential, advantages as well as its determination to make breakthrough development. The city invites and welcomes investors with consistent promotion policies and the government always stands by them to help their projects work at the highest efficiency for the development of Can Tho City. I am confident that, with the determination of the entire political system, the city will win the total trust of investors who will be completely assured when choosing the capital of Nine Dragons land as a destination for investment, production and business development.
Thank you very much!
Ngo Khuyen (Vietnam Business Forum)
Vietnamese
