Decision No. 147/2005/QĐ-TTg Approving the Scheme for Socio-Economic Development in the Western Region of Nghệ An Province until 2010

Pursuant to …;

Approves the Program

"Economic and Social Development Plan for the Western Region of Nghe An Province until 2010"

_______________________

PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 37-NQ/TW dated July 1, 2004 of the Politburo on the Direction of Economic and Social Development and National Defense and Security in the Midland and Mountainous Northern Region until 2010;

Considering the proposal of the People's Committee of Nghe An Province at Proposal No. 1527/TT-UB dated April 6, 2005 regarding the request for approval of the Project "Economic and Social Development Plan for the Western Region of Nghe An Province until 2010"; and the proposal of the Ministry of Planning and Investment at Circular No. 2939 BKH/KTĐP< dated May 4, 2005.

DECISION:

Article 1. Approve the Project "Economic and Social Development Plan for the Western Region of Nghe An Province until 2010" with the main contents as follows:

1. Development objectives until 2010

To lift the western region of Nghe An Province out of underdevelopment; improve the material and spiritual life of ethnic groups, especially those in remote and border areas; combat social evils; ensure national defense, security at the border, and sustainable ecological environment.

2. Development directions until 2010

- Accelerate the pace of sustainable economic development based on restructuring the economy, particularly the agricultural and forestry sectors, to form large-scale concentrated raw material production areas linked with the development of processing industries to rapidly increase the proportion of industry, the volume and value of goods for consumption and export, create jobs, and reallocate labor within the region;

- Expand service, trade, tourism, and communication activities. Develop regional, district, commune cluster commercial service networks and market networks in highland communes to purchase and exchange agricultural and forest products and supply materials and goods for production and daily life.

3. Main indicators until 2010

a) On Economy:

- Average economic growth rate: 15.08%; total production value (at 1994 prices) reaching 12,536 billion VND;

- Economic structure: reduce the proportion of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries from 45.6% in 2005 to 35%; increase the proportion of industry and construction from 28.2% in 2005 to 37%; increase the proportion of service sectors from 26.2% in 2005 to 28%;

- Average income per capita reaching 8.5 million VND (high mountain areas 4-5 million VND; low mountain areas 9-10 million VND);

- Export value reaching 45 million USD.

b) Regarding society:

- Average population growth rate: 1.1%. Population size reaching 1,191,190 people;

- Eradicate poverty-stricken households and reduce poor households below 10%;

- Basically complete the task of settlement and resettlement in all highland districts. Strive to eliminate the phenomenon of free migration across the Laos border;

- Achieve universal primary education and junior secondary education in all ten mountainous districts; 100% of classrooms are solidly constructed;

- Reduce the malnutrition rate among children under five years old to 30%.

4. Development directions for industries and fields

a) Developing economic and social infrastructure:

- Transportation:

+ Construct economic roads combined with national defense such as:

. The road connecting National Highway 7 with National Highway 48, 106 km long;

. The Western Nghe An - Thanh Hoa route (Muong Xen - Tri Le - Thong Thu - Thanh Hoa), 240 km long.

+ Border roads (180 km long):

. The Chau Kim - Nam Giai, Ta Do - Khe Kien route;

. The Ve - Huu Khuong - Tam Thai route;

. The Chau Kim - Nam Giai route;

. The Ke Bon - Chau Phong route;

. The Don Phuc - Binh Chuan route.

+ Construct a new border road over 400 km long;

+ Upgrade and complete national highways, provincial roads, and transportation systems serving raw material production areas and tourism in mountainous regions (National Highways 7A, 48, 15A, 46, and the Ho Chi Minh Road, totaling 748 km, of which 568 km pass through ten mountainous districts; 12 provincial roads totaling 794 km);

+ Upgrade the surface of district roads leading to commune centers, while investing in building new roads and facilities for ten communes without motorable roads, totaling 167 km.

- Irrigation:

+ Invest in constructing the combined hydropower and irrigation project of Ban Mong (Quy Hop District) with a capacity of 400 million cubic meters of water and 60 MW to irrigate and maintain moisture in the Northwest region;

+ Restore and upgrade 136 existing projects and construct 278 new projects to ensure irrigation for 32,800 hectares. Among them, 19,000 hectares for rice and 13,800 hectares for dry crops;

+ Reinforce 1,106 km of canals and ditches;

+ Construct 195 new water supply projects, solving drinking water needs for 890,000 people.

- Electricity:

+ Complete the power grid planning in mountainous areas, increase the capacity of transformer stations; develop 35 KV and 22 KV grids beyond 110 KV substations to communes with suitable conditions;

+ Continue to extend the power grid to communes where technical feasibility allows. Invest in upgrading and reinforcing existing transformer stations and power lines, while developing small hydropower plants or solar panels;

+ Complete the construction of the 320 MW Ban Ve Hydropower Plant, the 96 MW Khe Bo Hydropower Plant, the 180-200 MW Hua Na Hydropower Plant, the combined hydropower and irrigation plant at Thac Muoi with 40 MW, and other plants: Ban Coc, Sao Va, Nhan Ha with capacities ranging from 5 to 20 MW, and several hydropower plants.

By 2010, bring the household electricity usage rate (national grid, small hydropower, solar...) up to 100%.

- Urban development:

+ Form and develop two new towns: Cong Cuong Town with a population of 20,000 to 30,000; Thai Hoa Town with a population of 30,000 to 50,000;

+ Form seven new market towns: Dinh Son (Anh Son District); Cho Cong, Cho Chua, Vo Lieu, Thanh Thuy (Thanh Chuong District); Market Town 3/2 (Quy Hop District); Dong Hieu (Nghia Dan District); Chau Khe (Cong Cuong District);

+ Develop eleven urban points and market towns along the Ho Chi Minh Road: Nghia Dan District: four points (Nghia Son, Nghia Loc, Nghia Trung, Dong Hieu); Tan Ky District: three points (Market Town Lat, Nghia Binh, Ky Son); Anh Son District: one point (Tri Le Market Town); Thanh Chuong District: three points (Thanh Thuy, Thanh Mai, Hanh Lam);

+ Develop fifty-eight new market towns tied to rural market development: Ky Son District: six market towns; Tuong Duong District: two market towns; Cong Cuong District: five market towns; Anh Son District: three market towns; Thanh Chuong District: sixteen market towns; Que Phong District: four market towns; Quy Chau District: seven market towns; Quy Hop District: seven market towns; Tan Ky District: two market towns; Nghia Dan District: seven market towns.

- Construction of industrial zones: construct the Phủ Quỳ Industrial Zone with an area of 400 hectares in Nghĩa Thuận Commune, develop processing industries for agricultural and forest products, textiles and garments, machinery assembly, consumer goods production, and construction materials.

Form clusters of small and cottage industries in the mountainous areas of 10 districts to exploit existing raw material resources and revive traditional craft villages and industries in the region.

- Development of border economic zones: complete the construction of the international border gate Nam Can (Kỳ Sơn District). Upgrade the Thanh Thuy Border Gate (Thanh Chuong District) to a national border gate; prepare for investment to open the Tong Thu Border Gate (Que Phong District) to facilitate exchanges with the Lao People's Democratic Republic and other countries in the region.

Construct two border marketplaces to create sources of goods and promote cooperation and exchanges with Laos and the northeastern provinces of Thailand.

b) Develop agriculture, forestry, and fisheries:

Forestry:

+ Manage, protect, and develop three types of forests (protective forests, special-use forests, and production forests) to create a sustainable ecosystem for the protection of land, water sources, genetic resources, environment, and natural scenery;

+ Reform forest management mechanisms, fully implement land allocation and forest contracting suitable to each residential area, creating local employment in forestry production sectors. Gradually stabilize the livelihoods of residents, eradicate poverty;

+ Manage and protect the current 656,391 hectares of forest;

+ Create large-scale concentrated forest planting areas: wood fiber plantations 72,500 hectares, MDF raw material plantations 5,000 hectares, rattan plantations 15,000 hectares, cinnamon plantations 10,000 hectares, ant-proof tree plantations 7,000 hectares, bamboo and rattan plantations for shoots 5,000 hectares.

- Agriculture: ensure food security in highland and border districts based on intensive cultivation of existing paddy fields combined with expansion in areas with new irrigation works and significant reduction in upland rice areas. Develop cash crops and fruit trees in conjunction with investment in irrigation development, application of advanced techniques in crop and livestock breeding, intensive farming, and increased productivity.

+ Food crops: by 2010, reclaim 2,000 hectares of paddy fields in highland districts, reduce 6,000 hectares of upland rice areas. Stabilize the planted area of paddy at 57,610 hectares (including 10,000 hectares of rotational upland rice), corn 29,700 hectares, achieve a paddy yield of 44 tons/hectare and corn yield of 36 tons/hectare by 2010. Total grain production in 2010 will reach 354,284 tons;

+ Cassava: by 2010, allocate 5,000 hectares for cassava to ensure raw material for two cassava starch factories with a capacity of 100 tons/day. Invest in intensive cultivation of new varieties to achieve a yield of 500 tons/hectare;

+ Sugarcane: stabilize the sugarcane planting area at 25,000 hectares by 2010; intensively cultivate to achieve an average yield of 70-80 tons/hectare;

+ Peanuts: plant area of 9,000 hectares by 2010 based on conversion from less efficient rice and potato lands. Apply plastic mulch peanut cultivation, invest in intensive cultivation using new high-yielding varieties such as L14, L08, LVT, etc., to achieve an average yield of 25 tons/hectare;

+ Sesame: plant area of 6,000 hectares, mainly V6 variety, yield 7 tons/hectare, production 4,200 tons;

+ Tea: scale of planting area 13,000 hectares, currently 6,800 hectares, newly plant 5,200 hectares (distributed along the Ho Chi Minh Highway, 4,500 hectares of tea tips, 500-700 hectares of snow tea in Ky Son District); yield 15 tons/hectare;

+ Coffee: scale of planting area 3,500 hectares using Catimor coffee variety, yield 1.5-2 tons/hectare. Currently 2,400 hectares, newly plant 1,100 hectares;

+ Rubber: scale of planting area 7,000 hectares, currently 3,218 hectares, newly plant 3,382 hectares (mainly along the Ho Chi Minh Highway). Latex production will reach 5,200 tons in 2010;

+ Oranges: scale of planting area 5,000 hectares (mainly in four districts: Nghia Dan, Tan Ky, Quy Hop, Con Cuong). Average annual planting 500-600 hectares, increase yield to 25-30 tons/ha, intensive areas reach 40-50 tons/ha;

+ Pineapple: scale of 10,000 hectares, currently 3,200 hectares, newly plant 6,800 hectares (expand pineapple planting areas in three districts: Nghia Dan, Tan Ky, and Anh Son), meet raw material needs for the Quynh Chau (Quynh Luu) pineapple factory and plan to build another concentrated pineapple juice factory in Tan Ky or Yen Thanh District with a capacity of 5,000 tons/year;

+ Livestock development: rapidly increase the proportion of livestock in agriculture from 30% in 2005 to 40% in 2010 (concentrate on farm-based livestock raising towards industrialization from feed production to housing);

. Pigs: accelerate the growth rate of pig herds to 4.5-5% during the period (2006-2010) to reach a total herd of 583,660 heads by 2010. Of which, the lean meat pig ratio accounts for 60-70%;

. Buffalo and cattle: accelerate the growth rate of buffalo and cattle herds. Increase the growth rate of buffalo herds to 3.2% during the period (2006-2010) to reach a total herd of 244,000 heads and the growth rate of cattle herds to 5.6% to reach a total herd of 228,210 heads by 2010, of which 68% are Sind crossbreeds. Encourage the development of dairy cattle herds in districts with suitable conditions and balanced grass planting areas.

In addition, develop other specialty livestock: beekeeping for honey, free-range red ants, soft-shelled turtle farming, etc.

- Fisheries: convert some low-efficiency paddy fields to mono-sex tilapia fish farming and develop rotational paddy-fish farming on irrigated paddy fields. Fully utilize existing reservoirs for aquaculture. By 2010, the aquaculture area will reach 14,900 hectares, production reaching 12,140 tons.

c) Industry - Construction: develop advantageous industries and those capable of exploiting raw material regions and product markets.

- Sugar industry: maintain the capacity of two sugar factories: Song Con (Tan Ky) at 1,250 tons/day, Song Lam (Anh Son) at 500 tons/day, expand the capacity of the NAT&L sugar factory to 12,000 tons of sugarcane/day; sugar production will reach 180-200 thousand tons in 2010;

- Tea processing: invest in additional production lines and upgrade existing facilities to achieve a green tea processing capacity of 12,000 tons;

- Coffee processing: establish a processing plant with a capacity of 2,000 tons/year equipped with modern facilities to serve both domestic consumption and export, meeting the processing of 6,000 tons of products;

- Rubber processing: upgrade existing facilities to ensure dry latex processing capacity of 5,000 tons;

- Processing fruits: construct a new concentrated pineapple juice factory with an annual capacity of 5,000 tons in Tân Kỳ or Yên Thành in 2007 to exploit the potential of the pineapple planting areas in Tân Kỳ and the mountainous communes of Yên Thành along the Hồ Chí Minh Highway;

- Processing forest products: promote investment and seek partners to build a paper pulp factory with an annual capacity of 130,000 tons;

- Other processed products: promote investment to build factories and small production facilities such as animal feed processing plants in Con Cuông, preliminary paper pulp factories in Khe Bố (Tương Dương), essential oil processing facilities at 5,000 tons per year in Mường Nọc (Quế Phong); increase the capacity of the mineral water plant in Quỳ Hợp to 5 million liters per year;

- Mineral extraction: refined tin production volume of 800 tons per year; white stone export of 350,000 tons per year; basalt 150,000 tons per year; coal 25,000 tons per year; construction stone 300,000 cubic meters per year; gravel and pebbles 1 million cubic meters per year;

- Construction materials: plan Anh Sơn and Đô Lương regions as key cement production centers; expand the scale of production and modernize the technology of the two standing kiln cement factories in Anh Sơn to 400,000 tons per year using rotary kiln technology, while preparing to build an additional rotary kiln cement factory with a capacity of 1.4 million tons per year; build granite processing factories with a capacity of 1 million square meters per year in Tân Kỳ and several tile production facilities with a total capacity of 1 million square meters per year, build a cement factory in Đô Lương with a capacity of 2.4 million tons per year; build non-fired brick production facilities in Anh Sơn, Tân Kỳ, Nghĩa Đàn with a capacity of 90 to 100 million bricks per year to bring the fired brick production volume to 100 million bricks and roof tiles 35 million pieces per year.

d) Trade and tourism services.

- Trade: form commercial centers in district towns, market towns, trading systems, retail networks for gasoline and diesel in mountainous areas within the region, border markets. Strengthen comprehensive cooperation with neighboring Laotian provinces to create a market for goods exchange through Laos and northeastern Thailand;

Strive to achieve an average growth rate of the total turnover of retail goods in the 10 mountainous districts at 10.85% during the period (2006 - 2010); the total turnover of retail goods reaching 2.2 trillion VND, export value reaching 45 million USD in 2010.

- Tourism services: effectively utilize natural resources, scenic spots, cultural relics, ethnic traditions, turning western Nghệ An into attractive eco-tourism, scenic, cultural, and ethnic tourism sites linked to the provincial tourism system. By 2010, the number of tourists visiting the mountainous area will reach 200,000 visitors; tourism service revenue reaching 30 billion VND.

đ) Culture and society:

- Population, labor, and social life:

+ Link resettlement programs, economic zones, and national defense resettlements with development programs and projects to adjust population distribution;

+ Develop and form new concentrated residential clusters along main transportation routes and the Vietnam-Laos border. Towns, market towns, and residential areas along the Hồ Chí Minh Highway, linked with agricultural, forestry production, industry, small-scale industry, and services;

+ Increase the proportion of industrial and service labor to 30-40%, and the employment rate to 90% by 2010;

+ Reduce the poverty rate below 10% by 2010.

- Education and training: attract 50-60% of children of school age to kindergartens and groups. In remote and deep rural areas, organize for 5-year-old and older children who have not attended kindergarten to study the pre-school program of 36 sessions before entering first grade.

+ Stabilize existing kindergartens, develop more groups and pre-school classes in villages. Raise the standard national kindergarten ratio to 10%;

+ Stabilize the primary school system in the region. By 2005, the entire region will implement universal primary education at the right age;

+ Complete universal lower secondary education by 2007, and 10% of lower secondary schools will meet national standards by 2010;

+ Build two vocational high schools in Thái Hà and Con Cuông to train ethnic minority people.

- Health care:

+ Invest in building two regional hospitals in Con Cuông city with 150 beds and Thái Hòa city with 250 beds;

+ Basically maintain the number of hospital beds in health centers, multi-purpose clinics in regions, and commune health stations. Invest in building more multi-purpose clinics in some densely populated counties, remote and deep rural areas. Increase the bed-to-population ratio to 22 beds per 10,000 people.

. Consolidate 100% of multi-purpose clinics in regions and commune health stations; all communes must have doctors, obstetricians, nurses, and midwives. Raise the commune standard national health ratio to 40-50%;

. Lower the malnutrition rate among children under 30%, and the goiter rate under 10%.

- Information and broadcasting culture:

+ Increase radio coverage to 100% and television coverage to 90% in villages and hamlets. Improve the quality and duration of Thai language broadcasts. Develop Mông language broadcasting programs. Each county has a mobile information team, and 100% of communes and towns have public broadcasting systems;

+ Increase the percentage of families meeting cultural standards to 85%;

+ Raise the percentage of communes having postal and cultural centers to 100%.

. Vigorously develop mass sports movements, build sports families so that 15% of households meet the criteria for sports families.

. Each county has a multi-functional stadium, a training and competition house. Commune clusters and communes have multi-functional stadiums.

. Ensure that 100% of mountainous area cultural, information, and sports cadres are trained.

- Science and technology: vigorously apply scientific and technological advances to production. Establish a regional science and technology application center serving agricultural and forestry production: both a research and application agency for scientific advances in the region and a supplier of seeds and techniques for the people, contributing to promoting agricultural and forestry production towards industrialization and modernization of agriculture and rural areas.

5. Main solutions

a) Continue to adjust and supplement planning for the development of industries, sectors, and new urban areas in the western mountainous districts of Nghe An province:

- Based on the overall socio-economic planning of the province and the approved planning for mountainous districts, adjust the structure of crop production, particularly livestock farming; from this, adjust investment projects for developing crops and livestock, adjust the planning for new urban areas, tourism development projects, and service economy projects within the area.

b) Development solutions for resources:

- Human resource development:

+ Develop policies to supplement and develop new human resources to train and enhance existing human resources. First, train the teaching staff, health workers, and grassroots cadres;

+ Strengthen and upgrade vocational schools in western Nghe An to improve the quality of trained labor, especially in rattan and bamboo weaving, agricultural and forest product processing industries. Establish two regional vocational training centers (Northwest and Southwest) to train human resources for the entire western region of the province;

+ Reinforce the state management apparatus towards efficiency and quality. Link training with cadre rotation to grassroots levels. Emphasize strengthening education and healthcare cadres, border guards, and attract university and college students to work at grassroots levels.

Pay attention to utilizing village elders and headmen to mobilize people to implement Party and State policies effectively.

+ Increase forestry extension workers, fishery extension workers, and industrial extension workers through cadre rotation, recruitment, and investment in agricultural, forestry, and fishery extension activities.

- Promote the application of scientific and technological advancements:

+ Convert low-yield paddy fields to industrial crop cultivation. Improve plant protection work, research, and widely disseminate appropriate pesticide and veterinary drug usage procedures for various plants and animals;

+ Expand mechanization in land preparation, harvesting, processing stages, enhance the utilization of irrigation facilities, and conserve electricity and water usage;

+ Invest in modernizing equipment and technology focusing on key products such as fruits, forest product processing, and seed production for crops and livestock to create breakthroughs in productivity, quality, and competitiveness of agricultural products;

+ Increase the area of hybrid rice planting to 80-90% of irrigated land, 80-90% for hybrid corn; expand the area of hybrid soybeans, sugar cane varieties Roc 10, Roc 16, Catimor coffee, high-yielding and quality new tea varieties, fruit tree varieties, and fast-growing forest tree varieties suitable for local soil conditions;

+ Continue to improve cattle and pig herds towards industrial farming, develop chicken and duck flocks, while restoring and developing rare livestock breeds such as Quy Chau duck, black-boned chicken, beekeeping for honey, red ant farming, soft-shelled turtle farming, etc.;

- Solutions for mobilizing resources for investment:

+ Review and supplement mechanisms and policies to attract investments for rural transportation, irrigation, land exploitation, etc., to develop infrastructure in mountainous districts;

+ Prioritize investment in infrastructure in key regions, border areas, raw material zones for processing industries, and tourist areas to attract investment. Prioritize investment in programs implementing Resolution No. 20-KL/TW dated June 2, 2003 of the Politburo, and projects in Resolution No. 37-NQ/TW dated July 1, 2004 of the Politburo, to complete the targets set by the 15th Provincial Party Congress;

+ Mobilize all resources to build infrastructure according to the principle of "state and people working together." Encourage people's investment and joint ventures with business organizations to develop production;

+ Develop and promote large-scale production and business projects such as cement, white stone mining and processing, wood processing, forest product processing, and other export-oriented goods;

+ Enhance the effectiveness of investment capital use, emphasize the responsibility of project sponsors. Build a reasonable investment structure to facilitate rapid economic restructuring;

+ Call for projects related to natural resource protection, environmental conservation, biodiversity preservation, land fund protection, water resources, and combine them with the development of tourism and other services;

c) Consolidate and expand production relations in mountainous areas:

- Organize production following household and farmstead economies. Implement appropriate mechanisms to encourage households, farmstead owners, and economic entities to expand production and business scales;

- Strengthen the role of state-owned enterprises in agriculture, forestry, industry, and services by developing public enterprises to ensure adequate and timely supply of consumer goods, production materials, and good agency services for mountain farmers;

- Continue to guide the transformation of management mechanisms in agricultural and forestry farms so that these units become centers for guiding scientific and technical knowledge to farmers. Simultaneously resolve relationships between farms, stations, processing plants, and economic entities in the area;

- Implement national target programs and socio-economic policies of the State and province to address employment and improve living standards for ethnic minorities;

d) Consolidate and develop product consumption markets in mountainous districts:

- Develop and consolidate strong export businesses capable of integrating from raw material procurement to processing and exporting to stabilize inputs and outputs. Utilize export support funds to assist businesses facing risks and losses, especially agricultural and food products from mountainous and ethnic areas;

- Develop and consolidate rural market networks and service procurement bases, quickly forming comprehensive economic zones in various areas to create models of economic development and procurement and supply points for mountain and ethnic communities;

- Continue to transform and improve the effectiveness of service cooperatives to ensure quality inputs and good product sales for farmers.

- Encourage and support enterprises and economic sectors to seek, develop markets, and call for investment partners to develop agricultural, forestry, industrial, and service production in the local area.

d) Reform state-owned enterprises and encourage the development of various economic sectors:

- Accelerate shareholding and ownership transformation of state-owned enterprises under provincial management in the Northwest Nghe An region, especially state-owned farms and Youth Volunteer Corps teams;

- Encourage and create conditions for various economic sectors to develop, particularly forming private companies in the processing of agricultural and forestry products and mineral extraction; forming cooperatives to provide input factors and resolve output factors for farmers;

- Create conditions for investors to invest in areas where the Northwest Nghe An region has advantages to contribute to the economic development of the region and gradually improve the living standards of the people.

e) Enact some mechanisms and policies for development:

- Administrative reform: continue to promote administrative reform, innovate leadership and management. Promote the restructuring of organizational structures and the rotation of cadres. Carefully nurture, train, and utilize young cadres and scientific and technical cadres to bring about qualitative changes in human resource development.

Continue to reform administrative procedures, implement the "One Window" project at all districts in the region according to Decision No. 181/2003/QD-TTg dated September 4, 2003, of the Prime Minister.

- Investment policy:

+ Prioritize investment in agricultural and forestry production and infrastructure for particularly difficult communes, remote and mountainous areas, and ethnic minority regions;

+ Transportation: prioritize investment in connecting roads between key areas, raw material roads, tourist site connection roads, and border roads;

+ Water resources: prioritize investment in upgrading reservoirs and dams serving irrigation and concentrated industrial crops. Continue to promote the construction of permanent canals and water supply facilities for rural areas;

+ Electricity: prioritize investment to accelerate the construction of Bản Vẽ Hydropower Plant, Khe Bố Hydropower Plant, and Thác Muối Combined Hydropower and Irrigation Project. Invest in improving and upgrading existing substations and power lines, while developing small hydropower plants or solar panels.

To achieve the objectives of the project, the total capital requirement is 26.8 trillion VND. Of which, domestic capital is 22.6 trillion VND, foreign capital is 4.2 trillion VND.

Allocation of investment among industries:

. Agriculture, forestry, aquaculture: 5.966 trillion VND;

. Industry: 10.285 trillion VND;

. Services and infrastructure: 10.549 trillion VND.

Among them, priority will be given to 60 projects with a total capital of 23.276 trillion VND (central budget: 7.446 trillion VND; local budget: 1.564 trillion VND; enterprises: 13.994 trillion VND; foreign investment: 272 billion VND).

(The list of projects is attached as an appendix).

- Ethnic minority policy:

+ Implement Decision No. 134/2004/QD.TTg dated July 20, 2004, of the Prime Minister; supplement and amend some development policies for mountainous and ethnic regions such as supporting capital for production development and maintenance of transportation, water resources, electricity, clean water, public welfare works, etc. Subsidize freight and prices for essential goods transported and supplied to ethnic minorities in remote and extremely difficult areas;

+ Address social issues arising in mountainous areas such as drug trafficking, drug addiction, HIV/AIDS transmission, illegal religious activities, free migration to Laos, complaints and disputes over land.

g) Continue to integrate programs and projects for socio-economic development with enhanced investment efficiency for mountainous areas:

- Establish models of agricultural and forestry production linked with industrial processing. Encourage the development of farmstead economies and large-scale production areas for industrial processing;

- Consolidate and strengthen the activities of agricultural, forestry, and fishery extension services to suit each community's customs and production practices so that people can easily adopt science and technology and other services.

h) Strengthen management, exploitation, and effective use of available natural resources while protecting the environment:

- Land resources: allocate land effectively for production and construction in the local area. Minimize idle land as much as possible. Focus on doing well in water management to enhance land use efficiency.

Complete the allocation of land and long-term forest tenure to households in highland districts, tied to the work of stable settlement:

+ Invest in intensifying existing rice cultivation areas, continue to reclaim new rice cultivation areas in regions with conditions for building water conservancy works;

+ For bare hill and mountain areas: encourage economic sectors to invest in agricultural and forestry production, creating raw material areas linked with industrial processing.

- Mineral resources: strengthen inspection work, organize mineral extraction properly to minimize negative impacts on the environment such as limestone, white stone, black stone, granite, basalt, tin, pottery soil, etc.;

- Forest resources: complete intensive forest planting procedures to enhance production efficiency. Strengthen forest protection and development activities through forest development projects. Organize planned forest harvesting to protect and sustainably develop forest capital;

- Water resources: invest in upgrading water conservancy works in the local area, manage and use water supply facilities effectively for agricultural production and residents' daily needs.

i) Maintain political stability, ensure national defense and security, and social order and safety.

Effectively combat the "Peaceful Evolution" conspiracy of hostile forces. Regularly inform ethnic compatriots about the Party's and State's policies on combining economic development with national defense and security. Continue to supplement and implement defense plans, building a solid national defense and security posture in all situations. Organize the construction of safe and controlled communes, ready for combat. Build border patrol routes and strengthen management at border gates (Nam Can, Thanh Thuy, Thong Thu). Organize mass movements to protect border security and social safety in the area.

Article 2. The People's Committee of Nghe An Province

1. Establish a Steering Committee to implement the Project, headed by a Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghe An Province, to direct its implementation. Functional agencies have the responsibility to enhance coordination with mountainous districts to build and implement the Projects.

2. Study to concretize the objectives and implement them through programs and projects for socio-economic development. During the implementation process, information must be regularly updated. Any need for supplementation or adjustment of the Project must be promptly reported to the competent authority for decision.

3. Proactively coordinate with central ministries and sectors to study and propose to the Prime Minister to issue mechanisms and policies suitable to the conditions of the province to encourage various economic components to invest in production and business services, expand markets, actively integrate into the economy, and protect national defense and security.

4. Implement organizational reform, management improvement, and administrative reform. Gradually create a favorable environment to encourage domestic and foreign investment. Fully leverage the potential and strengths of the region to gradually promote positive factors and limit negative aspects of the market mechanism during the development process.

5. Direct focused and prioritized investment to quickly achieve practical benefits, prioritizing investment in technical infrastructure serving production and social infrastructure, creating a driving force for the development of industries and fields.

6. Enhance the effectiveness of local government operations at all levels, along with the renewal of cadre placement and rotation work, job assignment and delegation, and emphasizing individual and organizational management responsibility.

Article 3. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and agencies under the Government shall, based on their functions and tasks, be responsible for coordinating with the People's Committee of Nghe An Province to concretize the Project "Economic and Social Development of Western Nghe An until 2010," which has been approved, through investment programs and projects in Nghe An Province; the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take the lead, coordinating with relevant ministries and sectors to select and classify capital structures for each Project to facilitate Nghe An Province in achieving its set goals.

Article 4. This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette; the Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghe An Province, Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, and Heads of agencies under the Government are responsible for implementing this Decision.