Decision No. 24/2008/QD-TTg On issuing certain mechanisms and policies to support economic and social development for provinces in the North Central and Central Coastal regions until 2010

DECISION OF THE PRIME MINISTER

On issuing certain mechanisms and policies to support economic and social development

for provinces in the North Central Coast and Central Coast regions until 2010

PRIME MINISTER

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

Considering the proposal of the Minister of Planning and Investment at the report No. 8409/TTr-BKH dated November 15, 2007.

DECISION:

Article 1. Issuing certain mechanisms and policies to support economic and social development for provinces in the North Central Coast and Central Coast regions until 2010 (including coastal provinces from Thanh Hoa to Binh Thuan), with the main contents as follows:

1. Certain main objectives and targets of the Region:

- The annual average GDP growth rate reaches 10 - 11%;

- Total export turnover exceeds 5 billion USD, with an average increase of 22 - 23% per year;

- Creating jobs for approximately 2.5 - 3 million workers;

- The proportion of trained labor force is 30 - 35%;

- Reducing the poverty rate below 12% (according to new standards);

- The percentage of people using clean water in cities is 95%; in rural areas, it is 75%;

- Increasing forest coverage to 44 - 45% of natural area; ensuring ecological environment, sustainable development.

2. Key tasks for developing major industries and sectors:

a) Industry:

Prioritize investment in developing key industries such as processing agriculture, forestry, aquatic products; construction materials; textiles, leather, footwear; steel smelting and rolling; machinery manufacturing; large-capacity shipbuilding; oil refining; pulp and paper,...

Focus on investing in several key projects during the period of 2006 - 2010 such as upgrading and building new processing plants for agriculture, forestry, and marine products; expanding existing cement factories, constructing several cement factories with a capacity of 1.4 million tons/year, investing in building Vung Ang Thermal Power Plant 1.200MW, exploiting Thach Khe iron ore, Vung Ang and Dung Quat steel smelting and rolling plants, oil refining plant at Dung Quat and Nghi Son, paper production plant at Thanh Hoa,...

Provinces and cities continue to review and supplement planning, mobilize various sources of investment to build infrastructure for economic zones, existing industrial parks, develop some necessary industrial clusters to create conditions for businesses to accelerate the progress of investment projects in their areas.

b) Services:

Supplement planning and invest in building modern and civilized commercial service facilities such as shopping centers, exhibition centers, supermarkets from provincial, district, and commune cluster centers; develop rural market networks in mountainous, coastal, and island areas to facilitate trade and exchange of goods among ethnic minorities in particularly difficult areas.

Develop border economic zones synchronously with transportation systems on both sides of the border; prioritize investment in the special border economic zone of Lao Bao to expand trade exchanges, tourism development, and enhance services with neighboring countries.

Continue to invest in expanding the scale of production and improving the quality of key export products of the Region to meet international standards for export to regional and global markets such as seafood, cassava starch, tea, coffee, wood products, textile products, construction materials, minerals.

Invest in enhancing the capacity of cargo and passenger transport services by road, rail, sea, and air; develop financial, banking, postal, telecommunications, and information technology service facilities in a synchronized and modern manner; build information technology into a leading industry of the Region.

Develop the tourism industry based on exploiting the potential and advantages of the Region such as beach tourism, resort, visiting natural heritage sites, historical and cultural relics; prioritize investment in developing tourism along the East-West Corridor, participating in the Mekong Subregion Tourism.

c) Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries:

- Regarding agriculture: localities continue to research and develop agricultural production towards commodity production, increasing efficiency per hectare, diversifying crops, ensuring safe production, and preventing natural disasters. Stabilize rice planting area at 1.2 million hectares, develop short-cycle cash crops like sugarcane, peanuts, tobacco; long-cycle cash crops like cashew, coffee, coconut, rubber, tea, black pepper, and fruit trees into large-scale specialized areas, prioritizing agricultural production to supply raw materials for processing factories.

Focus on building several water conservancy works: Cu Da, Ban Mong, Ngan Troi, Song Nhen, Ta Trach, Rao Quan, Dinh Binh.

Develop livestock and poultry farming in farm and household forms, strengthen large-scale pig and beef cattle farming in provinces with suitable conditions.

- Regarding forestry: continue to adjust the planning of special-use forests, protective forests, and economic forests. Transfer part of the area of special-use and protective forests to households or communities for self-management. Combine regular forest planting, protection, and care with the program of planting 5 million hectares of new forests, contributing to shifting the production structure, increasing export items, generating income to ensure the livelihood of forest workers. Continue to protect, encircle, repair nature reserves, national parks, mangrove forests, upstream and coastal protective forests, consolidate the system of upstream protective forests, especially those with high slopes that have lost forests to gradually reduce losses caused by natural disasters. Annually plant concentrated forests about 70,000 hectares, mainly protective forests, windbreaks, sand barriers, and coastal erosion control forests. Continue to allocate land and forests to the people and enterprises for management, encourage and support the people to plant raw material forests combined with developing forestry, agriculture, and farms.

- Regarding fisheries and salt industry: the long-term goal is to build the aquaculture industry into a leading economic sector of coastal provinces in the Central Coast region; during the period of 2006 - 2010, focus on investing in three main areas serving daily life and providing raw materials for export production: stabilizing aquaculture and fishing activities while protecting the environment and reasonably exploiting coastal tidal flats, estuaries, and islands; developing modern distant-water fishing fleets to combine exploitation with maritime security; continue to invest in building fish ports, post-harvest service zones, and storm shelters for ships and boats.

Increase salt production for consumption, industrial production, and export, focusing on building new and expanding some salt fields in localities based on planning, demand, and investment capacity of the locality.

d) Fields of education, healthcare, culture, society, and environmental protection:

- In terms of education and training, plan the network of schools at all levels, including boarding schools for ethnic minorities in mountainous districts, central commune clusters in highland areas; ensure that each commune has one primary school, one junior secondary school, each village has a primary class and a kindergarten/montessori class; each central commune cluster has one boarding junior secondary school; each district/city has two or more general secondary schools.

Invest in provincial and district vocational training systems to ensure that by 2010, all provinces, cities, districts, and towns have vocational schools with multiple trades, encouraging the establishment of private and public vocational schools. Construct specialized vocational schools and high-tech vocational training centers according to planning to train technical workers for economic zones and industrial parks.

- Regarding healthcare and people's health care, localities continue to implement Decision No. 225/2005/QD-TTg dated September 15, 2005 of the Prime Minister on upgrading district hospitals and regional general hospitals during the period 2006-2010, ensuring that by 2010 each district has a general hospital meeting Class I standards with a capacity of 100-200 beds. Build regional hospitals with a capacity of 600-700 beds in Vinh, Hue, Da Nang, Qui Nhon, Nha Trang; consolidate and develop specialized hospitals such as obstetrics, pediatrics, mental health, and traditional medicine in provinces. Ensure that each commune has a health station meeting national standards, equipped with medical devices and equipment as prescribed by the sector, and staffed with doctors to provide medical examination and treatment services to the population.

- In terms of culture and information, continue to promote the construction of material infrastructure alongside improving the quality of cultural and information activities. The tasks for the coming period include bringing cultural and information activities to the grassroots level, strengthening propaganda and education on Party policies, State laws to all coastal, island, mountainous, remote, and far-flung areas. Strengthen radio and television broadcasting, ensuring that by 2010 all communes and households in the Region can watch television and listen to the Voice of Vietnam Radio.

Invest comprehensively in cultural and information activity facilities at all levels, prioritizing community cultural activities in villages, communes; protect and restore historical and cultural heritage sites, scenic spots, combining conservation with tourism landscape creation, and strengthen material infrastructure for people's cultural activities in each locality.

- Strengthen the construction of sports infrastructure, ensuring that by 2010 each province has at least three basic provincial-level facilities such as stadiums, swimming pools, and sports halls serving the development of professional sports achievements, combined with promoting mass sports towards developing sports like football, swimming, track and field, traditional martial arts, etc.

- Science and technology, and environment:

Implement and coordinate four national science and technology programs (biotechnology, information technology, new materials technology, and automation) across production, business, service, and management sectors. Build and develop the scientific and technological potential of the Region. Cultivate, train, and leverage the role of management cadres, scientists, technologists, and skilled workers. Promote research, training, and information dissemination activities; replicate models of economic villages, agricultural production models, and craft industries.

Manage exploitation and rational use of natural resources, landscapes, and protect the ecological environment. Develop comprehensive policies and measures to proactively address environmental pollution effectively.

đ) Synchronize the development of the Region's infrastructure:

Plan the infrastructure system to ensure the socio-economic development of the Region. Continue to invest in constructing seaports, airports, road networks, railways; major water conservancy projects combining hydropower and reinforcing existing structures; develop urban and rural water supply and drainage systems; develop the urban network of the Region according to Decision No. 148/2004/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister on the main direction of socio-economic development of the Central Coast Economic Zone until 2010 and vision until 2020; Decision No. 113/2005/QD-TTg dated May 20, 2005 of the Prime Minister promulgating the Government's action program to implement Resolution No. 39/NQ-TW of the Politburo and other related decisions of the Prime Minister.

Develop economic zones and large cities as development centers of the Region, build Vinh City into an economic and cultural center of Northern Central Vietnam, build Da Nang City into a large economic and social center of the Central Region, build economic zones Dung Quat, Chu Lai, Nhon Hoi, Van Phong, Chan May - Lang Co, Vung Ang, Southeast Nghe An, Nghi Son into multi-industry economic zones; build the special economic and trade zone Lao Bao according to the approved planning by the Prime Minister.

e) National defense and security:

Localities in the Region cooperate with the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Public Security to build infrastructure serving national defense and security needs combined with civilian and economic needs in island districts, island communes, border communes such as anchorage areas for ships and boats to avoid storms, port facilities and fishery support services; some sections and coastal roads; maritime and air search and rescue centers; border guard posts; border patrol routes; stabilize and arrange residential clusters linked with border guard posts; build military economic zones in strategic locations. Vigorously promote mass movements, defend the country, build a close-knit people's security system combined with the entire people's defense system; build a solid defense area in each province and city. Effectively prevent and combat various types of crime and social evils.

Article 2. Continue to implement and supplement mechanisms, policies, and solutions for economic and social development and to ensure national defense and security in the Region.

1. Continue to implement existing mechanisms and policies to achieve the main goals and tasks of the Region, including:

- Continue to implement Decision No. 150/2005/QD-TTg dated June 20, 2005 of the Prime Minister on approving the planning for the restructuring of agricultural, forestry, and fisheries production structures nationwide until 2010 with a vision to 2020;

- Support policies for production land, residential land, housing, and drinking water for ethnic minority groups according to Decision No. 134/2004/QD-TTg dated July 20, 2004 of the Prime Minister. Provinces should review and ensure support in accordance with objectives, standards, target groups, and transparency; strive to resolve production land, residential land, housing, and drinking water issues for ethnic minorities by the end of 2008.

- Support policies for essential goods for ethnic minority groups in difficult areas according to Decree No. 20/1998/NĐ-CP dated March 31, 1998 and Decree No. 02/2002/NĐ-CP dated January 3, 2002 of the Government. Review and adjust assistance activities towards local authorities taking the initiative in setting targets and managing goods directly to users.

- Preferential credit policies for poor households, other policy beneficiaries, and households engaged in production and business in mountainous, coastal, and island areas collectively referred to as difficult and extremely difficult areas through the Social Policy Bank and other microfinance organizations.

- Continue implementing Decree No. 134/2006/NĐ-CP dated November 14, 2006 of the Government on the recruitment system for universities, colleges, and secondary vocational schools within the national education system. Organize training and retraining for state management cadres at all levels, especially at the grassroots level.

Ministries, provinces, counties, communes, and wards should plan training, retraining, and utilization of state management cadres for their respective sectors and levels. Prioritize the implementation of policies for ethnic minority students who have been trained and returned to work in their home regions to participate in regional economic and social development.

- Continue implementing health examination and treatment policies for the poor and social policy beneficiaries according to Decision No. 139/2002/QD-TTg dated October 15, 2002 of the Prime Minister.

2. Adjust and supplement some mechanisms and policies as follows:

a) Policies on agricultural, forestry, fishery production, and rural development:

- Allow the application of Decision No. 231/2005/QD-TTg dated September 22, 2005 of the Prime Minister on supporting state-owned agricultural and forestry enterprises, special-use forest management boards, and protective forest management boards to employ ethnic minority laborers in western counties of North Central and Central Coastal provinces.

- Allow the application of Decision No. 304/2005/QD-TTg dated November 23, 2005 of the Prime Minister on piloting the transfer of forests and household and community forest protection contracts to ethnic minority households and communities in western counties of North Central and Central Coastal provinces.

- For spontaneous migrants living in special-use forests, protective forests, and national forests, localities need to integrate them into areas with available production land or conditions for developing other industries or build compulsory resettlement projects according to Decision No. 193/2006/QD-TTg dated August 24, 2006 of the Prime Minister on approving the program for resettling residents in disaster-prone, extremely difficult, border, island, spontaneous migration, and highly unstable areas of protective forests and strict protection zones of special-use forests from 2006 to 2010 with a vision to 2015.

b) Policies for difficult areas and ethnic minority regions:

- Encourage businesses to recruit and train employees to work stably in the business, mainly in industrial crop planting, forestry, and marine product exploitation, which will be subsidized by the State with a budget equivalent to the vocational training subsidy for businesses to organize their own training for new workers.

- For poor ethnic minority students studying in boarding schools but attending public or semi-public schools, they will receive scholarships equal to 50% of the boarding school scholarship amount.

- For ethnic minority students graduating from boarding high schools, they will be prioritized for recruitment into universities, preparatory universities, and vocational schools to strengthen the grassroots cadre team. If not enrolled in vocational schools, they will receive specialized, technical training for three, six, or nine months based on actual industry needs and will be assigned to work in their home regions. Provinces should use provincial and county vocational training centers to conduct training, with the State supporting 100% of the training costs.

- Policies for using and rewarding cadres working in mountainous areas and ethnic regions: provinces continue to plan cadre training and strengthen the cadre team for counties and communes. To encourage newly graduated vocational students to work in mountainous, island, remote, and extremely remote areas, especially at the commune level, provinces should coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs to propose policies for recruitment and provide training in legal knowledge, administrative management skills, economic management, mass mobilization, and information technology to help commune and county governments develop economically and socially and maintain social stability.

- Adjust the standard for medical supplies and common medical equipment consumption for commune health stations, increase the allowance for kindergarten teachers and village health workers to 50% of the basic salary. Support travel and accommodation expenses for inpatient patients (treated at district-level hospitals or higher).

c) Investment support policies:

- Increase the maximum level of central budget support not exceeding seventy billion VND for the investment in industrial zones for localities meeting the criteria set out in Decision No. 183/2004/QĐ-TTg dated October 19, 2004 of the Prime Minister (including access roads or roads and bridges leading to the industrial zone);

- Provide central budget funding for the construction of the second infrastructure of an industrial zone chosen by the locality, with a maximum not exceeding seventy billion VND, for localities meeting the criteria set out in Decision No. 183/2004/QĐ-TTg dated October 19, 2004 of the Prime Minister;

- The State will provide partial funding for the construction of projects to prevent, mitigate, and reduce the impact of natural disasters such as dikes, sea walls, harbors, and storm shelters for ships and boats; reinforce residential buildings, and construct bomb shelters for concentrated coastal communities.

3. Investment solutions:

a) Mobilizing and utilizing investment capital:

To implement the orientation of the plan and mechanisms, policies, and solutions for the socio-economic development of the North Central and Central Coastal regions until 2010, it is necessary to mobilize comprehensive sources of development investment from various economic sectors operating within the region:

- State budget capital (including ODA capital);

- Investment credit capital;

- Capital of state-owned enterprises;

- Capital of private businesses and residents;

- Foreign direct investment capital;

- Other lawful sources of capital.

Prioritize state budget capital for infrastructure investment (completing ongoing projects; maintaining, repairing, and upgrading existing infrastructure; constructing new projects according to planning). Require ministries, sectors, and localities to allocate plans reasonably, concentrate investments, ensure timely progress, and achieve synchronization to maximize the effectiveness of investment projects, especially those such as reservoirs, irrigation and drainage systems, small-scale water conservancy works, and rural roads.

Ministries, sectors, corporations, total companies, businesses, and related localities need to have mechanisms to mobilize capital from various economic sectors both inside and outside the Region to participate in investment in production, business, services, and socio-economic infrastructure in the North Central and Central Coastal regions.

Banks should facilitate loans for businesses of all economic sectors and residents in the region to invest in production and business, particularly preferential loans for developing processing industries in the Region.

b) Plan for allocation and utilization of resources: based on the development orientation and the five-year plan 2006-2010, each locality and sector should arrange annual investment plans in accordance with Decision No. 210/2006/QĐ-TTg dated September 12, 2006 of the Prime Minister on the issuance of principles, criteria, and standards for allocating development investment expenditures from the state budget for the period 2007-2010.

Article 3. Implementation

1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities in the Region shall coordinate to review, supplement, and adjust industry plans and overall socio-economic development plans of the province to be consistent with spatial and temporal aspects and new circumstances; develop the five-year plan 2006-2010 and annual plans; identify key programs and projects for five-year investment and annual plans; supervise the implementation of development investment according to the plan.

2. Central ministries, sectors, provinces, and cities shall complete action programs according to the tasks assigned in Decision No. 113/2005/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister regarding the Implementation Program of Resolution No. 39/NQ-TW of the Politburo; establish Steering Committees for implementation; assign leaders responsible for programs and projects; study, compile, and submit to the Prime Minister mechanisms and policies to mobilize resources to achieve goals; strengthen inspection and supervision of program and project implementation.

3. Central ministries, sectors, and People's Committees of provinces in the North Central and Central Coastal regions shall report periodically every six months and annually on the implementation of this Decision, to be sent to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for consolidation and reporting to the Prime Minister.

4. Annually, the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to conduct summaries and reports to the Prime Minister.

Article 4. This Decision takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Article 5. The Chairmen of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities in the North Central and Central Coastal regions and Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, and Heads of government-affiliated agencies are responsible for implementing this Decision./.