Decision No. 173/2001/QD-TTg On Developing the Economy and Society in the Mekong Delta Region for the Period 2001-2005

Pursuant to …;

On the development of the economy and society in the Mekong Delta region for the period 2001-2005

 for the period 2001 – 2005

_________________

PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Government Organization Law dated September 30, 1992;

Pursuant to the proposal of the Ministers of the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Planning and Investment, Finance, Transport, Construction, Health, Education and Training, Fisheries,

DECISION:

Article 1. The orientation for restructuring production structures and developing the economy and society in the Mekong Delta region for the period 2001-2005, aiming to:

Exploit potential advantages regarding geographical location, land, water resources (freshwater, brackish water, saltwater), forests... and labor to continue enhancing the position of rice and seafood exports and other agricultural products of the country.

Enhance the efficiency of production in various sectors such as foodstuffs, fruits and vegetables, livestock, fisheries, industry, including processing of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products, machinery serving agriculture, and rural industries; implement the construction of the Southwest Gas-Electric-Ammonia Complex and accelerate the restructuring of the economic structure towards increasing the share of industry and services...

Continue investment in developing socio-economic infrastructure (transportation, irrigation, healthcare, education and training...), building clusters and residential areas and housing in flood-prone areas, river mouths, and coastal regions. Strengthen the capacity to prevent and combat natural disasters, minimize losses when floods and natural disasters occur, ensuring that residents in flooded areas have safe and stable lives without having to evacuate during floods.

Restructure agriculture towards improving efficiency and sustainable development, increasing value creation per unit area, raising farmers' income; focus on developing certain high-competitive production sectors linked with processing industries and markets, while ensuring sustainable development requirements and environmental protection.

Article 2. The main objectives for socio-economic development for the period 2001-2005 must be achieved are:

1. Annual GDP growth rate reaching over 9.8% per year, of which agriculture, forestry, and fisheries remain the primary production sector of the region, with an average annual growth rate of 6%; industry and construction growing at 13.5% per year; services growing at 10% per year.

2. By 2005: the share of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries in the GDP structure will account for 45.5%; industry and construction will account for 22.5%, services will account for 31.5%. Average per capita income will reach over 550 USD per year.

3. Create jobs for approximately 1.8 to 2 million workers, averaging 350 thousand workers per year.

4. By 2005, there will be no households suffering from hunger, the poverty rate will be reduced to 10%; the malnutrition rate among children will be reduced to 22-25%; 70-80% of rural households will have access to electricity; 75-80% of urban households and more than 60% of rural households will have access to clean water. There will be no monkey bridges.

5. Increase the enrollment rate of five-year-old children in kindergarten before entering primary school to 85-90%; the enrollment rate of primary school-aged students will reach 95-97%, the enrollment rate of junior high school-aged students will reach 78-80%; the enrollment rate of secondary school-aged students will reach 42-45%; vigorously develop vocational education. Increase the scale of technical and vocational college admissions annually by 10-15%; expand the scale of college and university students, striving to achieve 60-70 students per 10,000 people. The proportion of trained labor in the region will reach 20-25%.

6. Complete the construction of residential clusters suitable with overall planning, ensuring that residents in flooded areas do not need to evacuate, each commune has a health station, timely medical care for the people, students in flooded areas do not need to stop attending school during the flood season, gradually achieving a safe and stable life, and a more civilized society under the condition of annual flooding.

Improve and significantly enhance the living standards of ethnic minority groups, especially the Khmer people. Effectively implement programs and targets for poverty alleviation, job creation, production land allocation, guidance on business practices, and support for housing for poor households and those under policy coverage.

Article 3. Contents of restructuring production structures and developing the economy and society in some key sectors and fields include:

1. Regarding agricultural, forestry, and fisheries production:

a) Regarding rice production:

Rice production remains the advantageous sector of the Mekong Delta region. Maintain the area of about 1.8 million hectares of land with irrigation conditions for two assured harvests per year, of which 1 million hectares are planted with high-quality rice for export, maintaining an annual rice production level of 15 to 16 million tons. Adjust the crop rotation and rice variety structure to suit flood patterns and market demand. Upgrade the technology of rice production, processing, and preservation to reach international advanced levels by 2005, with strong competitiveness in the international market.

For low-yield and unstable rice-growing areas, riverbank lands, highlands not affected by floods, and rice-growing areas near cities, along major roads, and in other regions, gradually shift to higher-value crops or aquaculture.

b) Regarding the development of industrial raw material crops:

Expand the area of corn, soybean... planting, combined with new high-yield varieties to provide raw materials for animal feed production.

Maintain the sugarcane planting area at around 90,000 hectares to ensure raw material supply for existing sugar factories. Apply scientific and technological advances in sugarcane varieties combined with intensive cultivation to increase sugarcane yield to an average of over 80 tons per hectare by 2005.

Continue to improve coconut processing technology, diversify and enhance the value of coconut products. At the same time, gradually research high-yield and quality coconut varieties suitable for consumer preferences to replace old, low-yielding coconut gardens; implement intercropping of coconuts with other crops or combine with livestock farming and aquaculture to increase land use efficiency by 1.5 to 2 times compared to the current level.

Based on scientific conclusions regarding the effectiveness and potential for growing cotton in the region, the People's Committees of the provinces, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Vietnam Textile and Garment Corporation shall develop plans and measures to expand the area planted with high-yield, quality hybrid cotton in suitable locations. The development of cotton must be linked with the development of cotton processing industries and textile industries. Jute cultivation should be promoted in areas suitable for packaging materials and paper industries.

c) Regarding fruit trees:

Develop tropical fruit trees with competitive advantages and high economic value such as mangosteen, longan, pomelo, durian, pineapple, rambutan, and other fruits. The development of fruit trees must be linked with export markets and replacing imports.

Areas frequently flooded need to shift crop structures and planting seasons to suit flood conditions.

d) Regarding animal husbandry: continue to develop pig herds, poultry, beef cattle, and rapidly develop dairy cow herds to meet raw material needs for milk processing plants in Long An, Can Tho, and other localities.

e) Regarding forestry development:

Protect and develop the mangrove forests in the South, especially those along the coast of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, and other provinces, recognizing this as a critical issue for the entire Southern ecosystem.

Link the protection and development of special-use forests, nature reserves, and historical forest areas with the development of eco-tourism forms.

Vigorously plant economic forests on acid sulfate soil areas and suitable locations; plant approximately 100,000 hectares of new Acacia forests in the low-lying areas of Dong Thap Muoi, Long Xuyen Quadrangle, West Hau River, and the southern part of Ca Mau Peninsula.

Strengthen the protection and development of forests in wetland ecosystems, encircle and regenerate forests in conjunction with aquaculture, enhance protective capacity, ensure economic efficiency of the forestry industry, and protect the ecological environment.

Promote the planting of scattered trees, windbreaks, and prioritize the planting of timber trees in concentrated residential areas, along roads, canals, and around houses.

Increase the forest coverage rate in the Mekong Delta provinces to over 15%.

e) Regarding aquatic product development:

Leverage the potential and advantages of the largest production and export region in the country. Vigorously develop aquaculture on various types of water bodies (freshwater, brackish, and saltwater); gradually develop marine aquaculture of shrimp, fish, and high-value mollusks according to the overall planning of the region and each locality.

By 2005, the total aquaculture area in the region will reach over 700,000 hectares, with a combined catch and aquaculture production of 1.7 million tons, and an export value exceeding 1.5 billion USD.

Diversify aquaculture methods: intercropping, crop rotation, monoculture, intensive farming, semi-intensive farming, ecological farming, and diversify the species farmed to achieve high economic efficiency, protect the ecological environment, reduce risks, and meet domestic and international market demands, particularly large-potential markets.

Prioritize investment in infrastructure construction for aquaculture, especially irrigation systems (dikes, canals, main water supply and drainage gates, pumping stations, etc.), forming medium and large-scale project areas for aquaculture to ensure synchronized investment, meeting the requirements for rapid, sustainable, and highly efficient development of aquatic resources.

Seafood exploitation must be linked with offshore services to improve economic efficiency; reorganize production and create jobs for coastal fishermen by shifting towards aquaculture, service provision, and protecting coastal aquatic resources.

Focus on investing in modernizing processing technology, reducing crude processing, increasing the proportion of high-value-added processed products, diversifying high-quality products, and meeting market demands; while effectively managing quality and ensuring food safety for seafood.

2. Regarding industrial development: concentrate investment in key industries:

a) Processing of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products, especially aquatic product processing. Prioritize upgrading, expanding, and improving the quality of aquatic product processing facilities in Ca Mau, Soc Trang, Can Tho, Tra Vinh, etc., increasing processing capacity to over 250,000 tons/year by 2005; fully utilize the capacity of fresh milk, yogurt, and ice cream processing plants in Long An and Can Tho.

b) Machinery serving infrastructure development, agricultural production, and rural development.

c) Production of building materials for infrastructure development and housing construction. By 2005, cement production will increase to 4.17 million tons, including about 3.05 million tons in Kien Giang Province.

d) The textile and garment industry, establish two integrated weaving, sewing, and dyeing clusters in Can Tho and Long An, each cluster having a spinning capacity of 20,000 to 30,000 spindles, weaving plain fabric (lightweight fabric) with a total capacity of 20 million meters/year, knitting with a capacity of 1,500 tons/year, and finishing dyeing for cotton and synthetic fabrics with a total capacity of 45 million meters/year. Attract approximately 20,000 surplus laborers from agriculture.

e) Leather, chemical, fertilizer, packaging, paper, wood processing... industries in localities suitable for developing small and medium-sized industries.

f) Regarding the electricity industry, invest in constructing the Om Mon Power Plant (I + II) with a capacity of 600 MW, the 110 KV transmission system, and synchronous substations with the power plant. Implement the construction of the mixed gas turbine power plant in Ca Mau with a capacity of 720 MW and the high-voltage transmission line from Ca Mau to Om Mon; urgently build the electricity and ammonia industries in Ca Mau and Can Tho (implement the construction of the ammonia production plant with a capacity of 800,000 tons/year in Ca Mau in 2002) according to the approved planning for the Ca Mau Industrial Gas-Electricity-Ammonia Complex by Decision No. 776/QD-TTg dated June 26, 2001 of the Prime Minister.

g) Regarding tobacco production, stabilize the production volume at 230-240 million packs/year; continue to invest deeply to modernize factories, improve cigarette quality, and increase the proportion of filtered cigarettes and hard-packaged cigarettes to 90%.

h) Regarding the alcohol, beer, and beverage industry, focus on improving the quality of beer from five local state-owned units, expanding production capacity, and reorganizing facilities to enhance quality to meet consumption needs within the region.

Address market consumption, improve the quality of various fruit juices, carbonated and non-carbonated beverages; study investment in additional factories with a capacity of over 10 million liters/year to process large quantities of fruits such as mangoes, longans, oranges, tangerines, rambutans...

i) Develop and attract investors into six existing concentrated industrial zones, while gradually planning and forming new industrial zones with medium and small scales.

Continue to form concentrated industrial zones, clusters, and points of industry in towns and districts to meet the need for preserving and processing agricultural products, developing industry, small-scale industry, and village crafts producing many products to meet domestic consumption needs, promoting exports, stimulating demand, and accelerating the industrialization process in rural areas.

3. On the development of trade, tourism, and services:

a) Perform well market forecasting, information dissemination, and trade promotion activities to expand domestic and international markets through business capital, funding from organizations and individuals, and support from the government. Establish and develop border economic zones in provinces with favorable conditions.

Encourage the establishment and enhance the role of industry associations. Study the establishment of trade promotion funds, crop and livestock insurance funds; develop and implement programs to improve the competitiveness of each product, each enterprise, and the entire Mekong Delta region.

Build and develop commercial centers, market information centers, trade promotion centers, storage and preservation systems for agricultural products, wholesale markets for agricultural and aquatic products... Invest in technical infrastructure for commerce (markets, commercial centers...) in regions with many ethnic minorities, remote and far-flung areas.

Increase the growth rate of the total retail value of goods and social service consumption throughout the region to 15% per year and the export growth rate to 18-20% per year.

b) Exploit the potential and advantages of the region to develop tourism and eco-tourism. Strive for a growth rate of the tourism sector during the period 2001-2005 to exceed 20% per year, reaching over 800 billion VND in revenue by 2005.

c) Diversify and improve the efficiency of production and business in the service sector, including rapid development of service forms that promote goods production, boost exports, and serve daily life such as transportation, postal and telecommunications, banking, insurance, bonded warehouses, transit, transshipment, temporary import-reexport, labor export, technology transfer services, input and output services for agriculture, aquaculture. The growth rate of the service sector during the period 2001-2005 should reach 8-10% per year.

4. On science, technology, and the environment:

a) Enhance scientific and technological capabilities in the region, mobilize external scientific and technological forces, create new and effective developments in research and application of science and technology to increase the contribution of science and technology to the added value of products, and provide impetus for economic and social development in the Mekong Delta region.

Continue in-depth research on distribution patterns and changes, providing scientific grounds for flood control measures, landslides, etc., and engineering solutions such as coastal dikes, island dikes, dikes protecting concentrated residential areas; effectively address rural and concentrated farming area environmental issues.

Invest in upgrading research institutions in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries in the region to quickly apply scientific advancements to facilitate structural transformation in production, especially in seed breeding (crops, livestock, aquaculture), food processing and preservation industries, forestry, meeting domestic and export demands.

b) Apply new scientific and technological achievements in construction, material production, and engineering structures suitable for weak soil areas and regions frequently affected by floods; study dredging of the Dinh An channel to allow 10,000-ton vessels to enter the Can Tho port.

c) Research to establish software technology in Can Tho and build and exploit the Internet network of the region.

The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment will coordinate with provincial People's Committees and relevant ministries and sectors to allocate funds in the five-year research plan (2001-2005) and annually for programs and projects to serve the goal of transforming the economic structure of the Mekong Delta region.

5. On healthcare, education, and training:

a) On healthcare:

Consolidate and develop multi-disciplinary hospitals serving primary health care, disease prevention, and medical treatment for the people.

Promptly complete the construction of a regional multi-disciplinary hospital in Can Tho city to meet higher quality medical examination and treatment needs for the people in the region.

Continue to consolidate and upgrade the grassroots healthcare network, particularly at the commune and village levels; implement policies to encourage doctors to work in communes, ensuring approximately 80% of communes have doctors by 2005.

Ensure essential drug stockpiles for flood-prone areas, while strengthening public awareness campaigns on clean water usage, safe and rational medication use. Implement preventive measures against dangerous diseases such as typhoid and other illnesses.

b) On education and training:

Quickly achieve fundamental changes in education and training to meet the educational needs of all social strata and the economic and social development of the region; prioritize attracting children of Khmer and other minority ethnic groups to schools.

Strengthen and complete the planning of the preschool and general education school network (including boarding schools for ethnic minorities) in conjunction with residential cluster planning, suitable for flood-prone areas; basically eliminate three-shift classes during the 2001-2002 academic year, by 2005, construct solid and semi-solid secondary schools reaching a ratio of 80%, ensuring stable learning conditions and serving as flood shelters when floods occur.

Based on the approved university and college network planning by the Government, promote the establishment of several universities and colleges in provinces with conditions to enhance local human resource training capacity, meeting the socio-economic development needs of the region, especially in agriculture, aquaculture, agricultural, forestry, aquatic product processing, medical fields, and teacher training.

On the basis of the existing Medical and Pharmaceutical Faculty of Can Tho University, implement in 2002 the establishment and investment in building a Medical and Pharmaceutical University to train specialized and general medical staff for provinces in the Mekong Delta region.

Resolve the shortage of primary school teachers by 2002, junior high and high school teachers by 2005. In the short term, increase the scale of teacher training at the Faculty of Education of Can Tho University, Vinh Long Technical College of Education, and some local Colleges of Education to promptly supplement and improve the quality of the teaching staff in the region. Implement in 2002 the establishment and investment in building a Teachers' University to train teachers for the region.

Gradually increase the proportion of investment in education and training in the Mekong Delta region up to about 22% of the total education and training budget during the 2001-2005 period.

c) Regarding labor and employment:

Along with economic restructuring, vigorously develop traditional trades, invest in building rural infrastructure in accordance with planning, adjust production structures, create more new jobs to attract local labor.

Provinces in the Mekong Delta should closely coordinate with relevant Ministries, sectors, and the 91 General Corporations to study, supplement, and perfect training programs to meet human resource demands; strive to transfer approximately 240,000 people annually from the rural workforce to the industrial and service sectors; reduce urban unemployment rates below 4%; adjust the labor structure in the region by 2005 to 53% in agriculture and forestry, 17% in industry, and about 30% in services.

Article 4. Regarding infrastructure development:

Continue to accelerate the development of infrastructure to create favorable conditions for rapid socio-economic development in the region (detailed appendices attached to this Decision).

Planning for transportation, construction, residential clusters and housing, electricity, water... must be continuously supplemented and adjusted to align with irrigation planning, flood control planning to meet the requirements for flood drainage; while ensuring safety for infrastructure projects when annual floods occur.

1. Regarding irrigation: invest in constructing irrigation systems linked with transportation development, residential clusters, and points according to Decision No. 99/TTg dated February 9, 1996 to effectively serve the restructuring of production structures and daily life.

Based on data from the 2000 and 2001 floods, assign the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to lead, in coordination with related Ministries, sectors, and provincial People's Committees to supplement and complete the overall planning of the irrigation system, flood drainage, acid soil flushing, saltwater intrusion prevention, freshwater retention... to meet the requirements of the regional economic restructuring program; supplement and adjust the flood control planning based on the 2000 flood restoration, linked with the entire Mekong River basin to suit flood patterns and emerging issues, ensuring rapid and sustainable socio-economic development in the region.

a) By 2005, complete the main irrigation and flood control works in the region to better meet production requirements, minimize losses caused by floods, ensure the safety of lives and property of the people, economic facilities, and infrastructure.

Continue to implement and complete the integrated irrigation and flood control system combining irrigation, acid soil flushing, saltwater intrusion prevention in the Long Xuyen Quadrangle. Accelerate research to have scientific bases for investing in building irrigation works and flood control projects in the Dong Thap Muoi and Vam Co regions.

b) Complete the components of World Bank (WB) loan projects such as Quang Lu - Phung Hiep, Nam Mang Thit, and O Mon - Sa No; the Ba Lai irrigation project in Ben Tre province...; build a synchronized irrigation system for about 1 million hectares of rice export production area; build a synchronized and complete irrigation system to serve about 700 thousand hectares of shrimp and other aquatic farming areas.

Implement irrigation systems in the Western Hau River region, southern peninsula Ca Mau... and regions like Upper U Minh and Lower U Minh to meet diverse production development requirements.

Review and perfect coastal dike and river mouth dike planning in coastal provinces to meet production restructuring needs, protect residents, and facilitate flood drainage in the region.

2. Regarding transportation:

a) Over the next five years, address transportation issues comprehensively, paying attention to both road transport and leveraging the strengths of inland waterway transport in the region; upgrade national highways and provincial roads to a level of 90% asphalt coverage; open new routes N1, N2 parallel to the North-South National Highway 1A, open the Quang Lu - Phung Hiep route, and the Southern Hau River route (91c).

b) Upgrade important national highways, provincial roads, and county roads to form a continuous road network throughout the Mekong Delta flood-prone region.

The construction of transportation routes, bridge, and culvert systems must closely coordinate with irrigation works to form a comprehensive flood control, water resource utilization, and sustainable environmental protection system, and to build residential clusters, lines, and points.

c) In the short term, focus on completing key projects, renovating and upgrading some transportation routes and major ports, implementing concentrated investment to achieve practical effectiveness, creating momentum to promptly serve circulation, export, and production development in the region, and consolidating the security and defense posture.

Commence construction of new route N2 from Thanh Hoa to Duc Hoa, route N1 from Ben Tre to Tinh Bien - Ha Tien, southern section of the Hau River (91c), Quan Lo - Phung Hiep route.

Open National Highway 1A from Ho Chi Minh City to Trung Luong, National Highway 60 (Ben Tre - Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, and two ferry terminals Co Chieng and Dai Gai; National Highway 80 (My Thuan - Vam Cong section), National Highway 50 from Nhị Thiên Duong Bridge to Go Cong - My Tho), To Chau Bridge on National Highway 80, and several connecting roads to border gates; commence construction of Can Tho Bridge; restore National Highway 1 from Ca Mau to Nam Can.

Implement the first phase of the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho expressway project, Rach Mieu Bridge, and Vam Cong Bridge under the Build-Operate-Transfer model.

d) Continue building rural road networks linking districts, communes, and hamlets from various sources of capital: state budget, mobilization from the people, funds from financial sponsors such as JBIC, ADB, and WB; quickly complete the program to eliminate monkey bridges and construct new rural bridges; strive to ensure that all communes have motorable roads to their centers by 2005.

e) Invest to basically complete land transportation routes on islands (mainly Phu Quoc Island) to ensure defense and security, along with addressing issues of electricity, water supply, bridges, healthcare, education, etc., to improve the living standards of the people and promote production.

Upgrade river ports located on main transport routes: Vinh Long Port and Cao Lanh Port on the Tiền River; My Thoi Port on the Hau River, Ca Mau River Ports, My Tho Port (Tien Giang), Dai Gai Port; raise the clearance height of One Month January Bridge in Soc Trang, Vinh Thuan Bridge, upgrade Sa Dec Bridge, and build Thoi Binh Bridge.

Complete the project for two southern inland waterways routes and Can Tho Port; continue the second phase of upgrading Can Tho Port including extending the wharf by 76 meters, constructing port roads, and equipping loading and unloading facilities. Invest in building Cai Cui Port (Can Tho), Can Giuoc Port (Long An), and Dinh An Port (Tra Vinh).

The Ministry of Transport will closely coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to calculate and determine the cross-sections and positions of bridges on transportation routes intersecting with the main irrigation canal systems, adopting appropriate engineering solutions (flood passage, dry bridges, flood overflow roads, etc.) to ensure both traffic and non-interference with water flow and increased floodwater levels.

3. Regarding the plan for building clusters, lines of residential areas, and housing for people in frequently flooded regions.

a) Construct clusters, lines, and points of residential areas that can withstand floods (using the flood peak years of 1961 and 2000 as benchmarks).

The construction of residential clusters, public welfare facilities such as schools, health stations, etc., must ensure they are not flooded compared to the flood levels of 1961 and 2000, ensuring safe and stable lives for residents in flooded areas without having to evacuate during floods; at the same time, create favorable conditions for production development, suitable to the living habits of local residents, promoting modern civilized lifestyles throughout the region, meeting the requirements of agricultural industrialization and rural development.

All residential clusters and housing for the people must be constructed according to planning, including methods of raising ground levels, enclosing dykes, or building house floors on piles, ensuring safety during the flood season, consistent with the planning approved by the provincial People's Committee after review by the Ministry of Construction.

Establish public welfare facilities (education, healthcare, cultural-social...) capable of operating normally during the flood season.

b) Supplement and complete the planning for construction and population resettlement in clusters and residential lines, enclosed dyke protection zones for concentrated residential areas, linked with economic and social infrastructure serving the lives of the people, prioritizing areas with deep flooding in the short term.

- For densely populated urban towns, townships, and marketplaces: combine localized ground elevation and dyke construction to protect residential areas, along with drainage and environmental sanitation measures and essential public welfare facilities, tailored to specific conditions.

- For commune center clusters, including commune offices, schools, health stations, markets, housing, etc., implement mainly ground elevation measures to withstand floods with a scale of approximately 3-5 hectares; residential clusters may be organized with a scale of about 2-3 hectares for around 100-120 households, integrated with farmland suitable for local living and production conditions and the arrangement of public welfare facilities.

Residential lines should be built primarily based on main canals and primary roads. Along these lines, residential clusters should be arranged. Clusters can be located on one or both sides of the canal or road, continuously or intermittently along the line, consistent with flood drainage planning and specific conditions of each area.

- For dykes protecting production and daily life activities covering large areas such as villages, communes, and counties, detailed planning must be carried out specifically, avoiding spontaneous and scattered construction that benefits locally but causes overall damage. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development must examine and approve specific plans for each province based on the comprehensive flood control and water management planning for the entire region.

c) In the five-year plan from 2001 to 2005, concentrate investments to basically complete the construction of residential lines and essential infrastructure in flooded areas and coastal river mouths; ensure that school systems, hospitals, medical facilities, cultural facilities, etc., operate normally during the flood season, gradually becoming more robust and flood-proof.

By 2002, complete the detailed planning for commune centers and residential clusters in flooded areas; focus on directing the completion of five pilot residential clusters in flooded areas currently under construction, summarize experiences for wider application. By 2005, all flood-resistant residential lines and clusters must be completed.

The Ministry of Construction shall take the lead in collaboration with provinces to develop a program and plan for constructing safe clusters and residential areas in flood-prone regions and a five-year housing development program for the Mekong Delta region from 2001 to 2005, to be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval and implementation.

d) Implement appropriate housing support policies for policy families, poor people, especially Khmer households with difficult living conditions who lack the ability to build their own homes. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs shall take the lead in coordinating with relevant ministries and sectors to develop specific support policies to be submitted to the Prime Minister in the fourth quarter of 2001.

In addition to state support policies, localities and residents in the region should mobilize movements to assist ethnic groups in resolving land issues and building houses to stabilize their lives.

đ) Review and adjust planning for residential areas, towns, and market towns, ensuring good integration of urban renewal and expansion with new urban area construction; upgrade and improve infrastructure in towns and market towns; coordinate with localities to effectively implement support policies and create favorable conditions for improving housing for the public, particularly those in flood-prone areas.

e) The State encourages localities to mobilize resources and organize the effective implementation of investment programs to develop rural infrastructure such as rural roads, aquaculture infrastructure, rural craft village infrastructure, etc.; address clean water and environmental sanitation in rural areas, and properly handle industrial zones, residential areas, rivers, and canals.

Article 5. Several mechanisms and policies

Mechanisms and policies for the Mekong Delta must ensure rapid promotion of economic structure transformation; infrastructure development; resolution of prominent issues in the region such as poverty, diseases, education, and improvement of the livelihoods of ethnic minorities, especially the Khmer people.

1. On mobilizing investment resources for production development:

Encourage all economic sectors to participate in investing in socio-economic development, creating jobs and vocational training; the state budget prioritizes funding for the construction of key infrastructure.

For aquaculture projects in newly reclaimed areas, localities should allocate land and encourage investors to invest capital, with enterprises as main investors in infrastructure construction, subsequently selling, leasing, or contracting out to recover costs under the mechanism for industrial zones.

2. On product marketing:

Establish linkage mechanisms: household farmers - cooperatives - enterprises with suitable policies to aim at a majority of farmers producing goods under contracts.

By 2005, more than 50% of commodity-producing households will produce under contracts with economic organizations and processing and trading enterprises. Initially, implement economic contracts for sugarcane, cotton, milk, and aquatic products, gradually expanding contract production for other raw materials.

Contracting for product sales is a responsibility of processing and consumption enterprises of all economic sectors.

Form associations to help each other in production and sales, protect the rights of producers and traders in each industry.

3. On investment:

Budget (including central and local budgets), mobilization of public resources, and external financial assistance should increase investment resources for the construction of socio-economic infrastructure such as transportation, irrigation, education, healthcare, residential lines, clusters, and public welfare facilities in clusters.

Policies should encourage all economic sectors to invest in construction materials suitable for housing and socio-economic infrastructure for the Mekong Delta region.

4. On credit:

a) State investment credit ensures sufficient funds for economic development projects, production and export processing projects, agriculture, forestry, and aquaculture projects, according to Decree No. 43/1999/NĐ-CP dated June 29, 1999, Decision No. 02/2001/QĐ-TTg dated January 2, 2001, and Decision No. 133/2001/QĐ-TTg dated September 10, 2001, issued by the Government.

The Development Support Fund should quickly implement credit forms such as guarantees and post-investment support as stipulated in Decree No. 43/1999/NĐ-CP dated June 29, 1999.

Allocate part of the state investment credit funds for policy households and poor households to borrow at preferential interest rates for house foundations and housing construction over several years; support investment in residential lines and clusters.

The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead in coordinating with the State Bank of Vietnam, the Development Support Fund, and relevant ministries and sectors to develop specific lending policies to be submitted to the Prime Minister for decision.

b) Commercial banks should provide loans to producers according to regulations, while promptly establishing a credit guarantee fund to help those without collateral assets obtain bank loans. Encourage the expansion of various forms of financial services for producers, especially encouraging service enterprises to lend to the public in advance and recover the loan through agricultural products.

Develop incentive policies for small-scale industries: support vocational training; exempt or reduce land use fees for investors, provide preferential credit for industrial enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises investing in the Mekong Delta region.

Establish an Industrial Promotion Fund (formed from the state budget, donations from organizations and individuals, and recovered support funds...) to promote industry and small and medium-sized enterprises.

6. Address the basic issue of farmers lacking land for production:

Increase the land fund through reclamation.

Review the land funds of organizations, state-owned farms and forestry enterprises to reclaim areas not in use or underutilized immediately in 2001 and early 2002, and return them to localities for allocation to farming households for production.

Create conditions for a portion of farmers lacking land or without land to settle in new economic zones.

Strengthen land management, complete cadastral files, issue certificates of land use rights, and strictly control land changes. Prohibit illegal land transfers, and resolve complaints and disputes over land use rights decisively.

Continue to implement policies exempting agricultural land use taxes for flood-prone areas and regions facing difficulties in market sales. Exempt land use taxes for poor households (according to new criteria) and for households in communes under Program 135.

7. For ethnic minority groups: continue implementing subsidy policies for transportation and prices suitable to their conditions and customs; the State will provide appropriate support for Khmer households truly struggling with housing.

Prioritize providing loans for production from the Poor People's Bank and other sources; effectively carry out agricultural extension work and strengthen guidance on business practices and production for ethnic minorities.

Starting from 2002, implement policies for impoverished ethnic minority families:

- Exempt contributions for school construction, tuition fees, and textbook costs for children attending school; prioritize job placement for ethnic minority graduates.

- Provide free medical examination and treatment at health stations, health centers, and hospitals.

Article 6. Implementation organization:

1. The People's Committees of provinces in the Mekong Delta must consider the implementation of this Decision's contents as a primary task for all levels of Party committees, local authorities, and the people in the region; coordinate closely with central ministries and agencies in developing and implementing programs and projects.

Based on consensus with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Fisheries, the General Department of Land Administration, and related agencies, the provinces shall review and adjust plans for residential area development, land use planning, and detailed production area planning (rice-shrimp; rice-crop, fruit trees, forestry development...) within the province; the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall approve detailed production area plans consistent with local characteristics, and develop specific programs and plans for implementation.

2. Ministries and sectors shall, based on their functions and responsibilities, take the lead in organizing and directing the implementation of specific programs and projects together with the Mekong Delta provinces. Ministries, sectors, and localities shall report annually to the Prime Minister on the results of implementing this Decision.

3. To address housing issues for policy-targeted households and poor households in deep-flooded areas, assign the Ministry of Construction to take the lead, coordinating with the State Bank of Vietnam and the Ministry of Finance to develop a loan policy for housing materials, to be submitted to the Prime Minister for decision.

Urgent residential cluster and line construction projects approved by competent authorities in 2001-2002 need not prepare and submit feasibility studies but only technical design and total budget estimates according to regulations, allowing direct assignment of contractors, while preventing corruption.

Initially, the Ministry of Construction shall work specifically with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the People's Committees of flooded provinces to identify and select urgent residential cluster and line construction projects and protective embankments for concentrated residential areas in deep-flooded regions, in accordance with planning, to be invested in 2001-2002 and reported to the Prime Minister.

Exempt land conversion fees for agricultural land used for residential clusters and lines.

4. Assign the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance to examine and allocate sufficient funding for seed programs; plan investment capital for urgent transportation, water conservancy, and residential construction projects.

The State Bank of Vietnam shall instruct priority allocation of preferential credit for people to invest in production development and rural infrastructure construction.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall seek the agreement and support of international countries and organizations, prioritizing ODA funds to support the implementation of economic and social development programs and projects.

5. The Hydro-Meteorological General Department shall continue to enhance capacity in measurement, investigation, and survey to collect accurate hydro-meteorological and environmental data for better weather and hydrological forecasting, studying weather and hydrological patterns more comprehensively in the region; providing scientific basis for sectors and localities to review, adjust, and supplement planning to improve floodwater management and utilization in the Mekong Delta.

Article 7. THIS DECISION SHALL TAKE EFFECT 15 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SIGNATURE.

Article 8. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-affiliated agencies, and Chairmen of People's Committees of Mekong Delta provinces are responsible for enforcing this Decision.