Hung Yen province is strongly spreading its determination and enhancing the real effect of the “wave” to upgrade its investment and business environment and boost its competitiveness by applying consistent and firm policies, procedures and solutions, especially the Project on fostering investment attraction and strengthening the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) in 2021 - 2025, with a vision to 2030 (PCI Project). Tran Quoc Van, Chairman of Hung Yen Provincial People's Committee, grants an exclusive interview to Vietnam Business Forum’s report on this content. Ngo Khuyen reports.
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In 2021, Hung Yen province managed to overcome its difficulties to successfully complete and exceed most economic growth and investment targets. So, how is the province promoting this result in 2022, sir?
Facing numerous difficulties in 2021, thanks to the determination and effort of the Party, army and people, Hung Yen province managed to overcome difficulties and achieved many encouraging results: GRDP growth of 6.52%, industrial growth of 8.82%, total growth of 7.28% to VND45,228 billion, export growth of 41.92% to US$5,925 million, and budget revenue growth of 14.4% to VND19,037 billion. In 2021, the province licensed 86 new investment projects (including 25 FDI projects) with a total registered capital of US$2,802 million. 45 new projects went into operation and employed 5,750 new workers. 1,323 enterprises were established with a total capital of VND22,239 billion.
These achievements motivated the province to set its goals for 2022: GRDP growth of 7%, industrial growth of 8.7%, construction growth of 5%, trade and service growth of 5.5%, agricultural growth of 2.2%, total retail revenue of VND48,000 billion, export value of US$5.6 billion, and budget revenue of VND19,525 billion.
To successfully achieve the above goals, in addition to continued measures for COVID-19 epidemic prevention in the new context, Hung Yen will drastically carry out tasks and solutions to restore and develop production and business operations, focus on mobilizing all investment resources, enhance transport infrastructure development, and speed up site clearance. The Standing Board of the Provincial Party Committee established a steering committee for key projects in 2021-2025, led by the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, assisted by the Chairperson of the Provincial People's Committee. In 2022, the province targeted to have 1,000 ha of clean land and invest in infrastructure construction of industrial zones to receive projects and focused resources on completing provincial and sectoral plannings such as My Hao Town Master Plan, Hanoi – Hai Phong Highway Sideway District Construction Planning, urban development programs and housing development plans.
Determined and endeavoring for further development, Hung Yen is spreading its achievements to obtain its goals set for 2022 and creating momentum for a whole period of breakthrough growth.
To unlock potential resources to accelerate development, Hung Yen province is proposing and removing obstacles in policy making, planning and transport infrastructure. Can you describe these "bottlenecks" and solutions to them in the coming time?
The Resolution of the 19th Provincial Party Congress (2020 - 2025 term) states the goal of building Hung Yen into a modern, effective, rapid and sustainable industrial, agricultural and service province and identifies eight key tasks and solutions in the current period. To create breakthroughs in economic development, Hung Yen is focusing on removing development bottlenecks as follows.
First of all, the province is urgently completing development plans to find and promote distinct potentials, outstanding opportunities and competitive advantages; overcome limitations and challenges; and resolve conflicts of huge potential due to imperfect and ineffective policies. Focus is placed on urban planning and management to ensure legal requirements and leave no effect on future development models.
Hung Yen will also diversify ways to engage resources, promote public-private partnership, led by State resources to activate all social resources in three forms: Public leadership - private management; private investment - public use; and public investment - private management.
The province will focus on developing a strategic infrastructure system, particularly traffic connection, urban development and digital infrastructure, to gradually foster digital government, digital citizenship and digital economy; concentrate on infrastructural adaptation to climate change, health and education infrastructure, and develop sustainable and modern industrial parks; and attract clean, high-tech industries.
In particular, the province will step up administrative procedure reform; decentralize authority; strengthen online public services; determine to overcome limitations to upgrade the business investment environment and enhance competitiveness to attract investment resources; and accelerate rapid and sustainable economic development.
Currently, the entire political system has joined hands with a high spirit and unity to effectively remove "bottlenecks" and gradually unlock potential resources to make breakthrough development for Hung Yen province in the coming time.
By launching the PCI Project, Hung Yen province is strongly beating the "PCI drum". Could you tell us more about the significance of the PCI Project to economic growth and investment attraction in the province at present?
For many years, Hung Yen province has paid attention to solutions to improve the business investment environment and enhance competitiveness. The Provincial People's Committee issued the “Project on reforming administrative procedures, creating a favorable investment environment and improving the Provincial Competitiveness Index in 2016 - 2020” (Decision 2382/QD-UBND dated October 28, 2016) and, at the same time, directed departments, agencies, branches and localities to quickly achieve their goals. However, Hung Yen has not made breakthroughs; therefore, the PCI score has not picked up very much in recent years. Despite certain increases in scores, its PCI still ranked low on the national rankings. Some component indices looked up but unstably, even facing the risk of falling behind. To overcome this reality, foster investment attraction, and boost socioeconomic development in the coming years, based on the direction of the Standing Board of the Provincial Party Committee and “bottlenecks” in implementation process, the Provincial People's Committee issued and enforced the PCI Project.
Mr. Tran Quoc Van, Chairman of Hung Yen province, grants the investment decision to Ms. Mai Kieu Lien, General Director of Vinamilk and Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Vilico
Regarded as a political task in improving the business investment environment and competitiveness, in addition to figuring out low-scoring targets and clarifying the responsibility of relevant bodies, the project aims to “Strive to improve the score of each PCI component index and gradually raise the PCI ranking by 2-5 places each year. By 2023, it will fall into Top 45 and by 2025 into Top 40, within the group of good performers. The project also states many solutions and tasks. Specifically, Provincial agencies and local authorities must work out action plans, organize preliminary reviews every 3-6 months and organize annual reviews. The Office of the Provincial People's Committee is responsible for monitoring tasks assigned by the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee to departments, sectors, districts, cities and towns, and at the same time, advising the Provincial People's Committee to host monthly meetings to assess assigned tasks. Provincial departments, sectors and district-level People's Committees will review administrative procedures as well as problems that need to be resolved and report outcomes to the Provincial People's Committee.
Immediately after the Project was promulgated, departments, sectors and localities actively took action to work out their activities. Specifically, the Department of Information and Communications advised on a plan for higher Transparency and Accessibility to Information Index in 2021-2025 and to 2030. The Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs issued Plan 3734/KH-SLDTBXH dated September 23, 2021. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also enacted Directive 12/CT-CTUBND dated September 23, 2021 on effective solution implementation, higher responsibility, spirit, attitude and quality of public service performance conducted by public employees in order to raise the PCI Index.
Needless to say, with the aspiration and desire for higher growth, Hung Yen is beginning a very strong, consistent and drastic action of the whole political apparatus. So, we believe that improving the business investment environment and enhancing the provincial competitiveness will make strong progress in 2021-2025.
The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also issued Directive 12/CT-CTUBND dated September 23, 2021 to end inconsistency among tiers of government to pick up the PCI index and figure out weaknesses in human factors. What do you think about the action to spread this determination?
The province’s PCI ranking was among the lowest in the country in recent years, showing that there were still shortcomings and limitations in various industries and fields. Thorough analyses pointed to human factors as key. In fact, some public employees are still irresponsible and even harassing people and businesses.
To achieve the goal of joining Top 45 PCI rankings by 2023 and make Hung Yen an attractive destination for investors, the Provincial People's Committee required every public employee, especially unit leaders, to uphold the sense of responsibility and the sense of self-discipline in performing official duties, wholeheartedly devoting to common interests and aspirations for further growth of the province. Hung Yen will resolutely handle violations and delays in settlement of administrative procedures, especially those relating to construction permission, site clearance, land and environmental issues.
By many measures, Hung Yen is determined to build a contingent of public employees imbued with the spirit of service to people and businesses. If they fail, they will face strict measures. President Ho Chi Minh once advised, “Officials are the root of work” and demanded "Training officials must not be done perfunctorily and coarsely” but “must raise them like gardeners who cultivate precious trees”. Personnel is difficult work but we will persevere in it, all for the sake of “building a more prosperous and more peaceful Hung Yen”.
Thank you very much!
By Vietnam Business Forum
Vietnamese
