Decision No. 44/1998/QD-TTg On approving the overall plan for economic and social development in the Southern key economic region from now to 2010

Pursuant to …;
Regarding the approval of the overall plan for economic and social development of the southern key economic region
from now to 2010

PRIME MINISTER

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

Considering the proposal of the Chairman of the State Investment Project Appraisal Council at document number 315/HĐTĐ dated January 16, 1998;

DECISION:

Article 1. Approve the overall plan for economic and social development of the southern key economic region including the provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Ba Ria - Vung Tau and the city of Ho Chi Minh from now to 2010 with the following contents:

I. MAIN DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES:

1. Building the southern key economic region into one of the fastest developing economic regions, with a higher economic growth rate compared to other regions nationwide.

2. Striving for a GDP growth rate during the period from now to 2010 reaching from 13.5% to 14.5%, leading in some important sectors, serving as a driving force for the development process of the Southern region and contributing to promoting the national economy.

3. Shifting the structure towards industrialization and modernization of the region and the entire southern area.

4. Completing and initially modernizing the infrastructure system in a synchronized manner.

5. Solving the basic issue of employment for people of working age.

6. Developing the economy and society in conjunction with protecting and improving the ecological environment, especially in the exploitation and rational use of natural resources, land use, urbanization, and industrialization processes.

7. Linking economic development with enhancing the capacity to ensure national defense security. Paying attention to key defense points and strategic logistics bases for the region and the southern area. Maintaining sovereignty over strategic areas of land, sea, and air that are of great importance to the country.

II. MAIN DEVELOPMENT TASKS:

1. On industry:

Industry must be a key sector, providing impetus for the economic and social development of the southern key economic region, striving to increase its development speed to reach 49.0% of GDP in 2000 and 50.4% of the region's GDP in 2010.

Developing clean and high-tech industries in Ho Chi Minh City; forming industrial zones in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong through Bien Hoa, running along Route 51 to Ba Ria - Vung Tau, linking into a network of industrial zones. Implementing the development of basic and spearhead industries (such as oil and gas extraction and processing, electricity generation, machinery manufacturing, steel rolling and processing, information technology, basic chemicals and materials...) to serve as the foundation for industrializing national economic sectors concurrently with the development of consumer goods production, meeting domestic demand and for export.

2. On trade, services, tourism:

Developing trade and services commensurate with the role and position of the region in relation to the southern area, the whole country, and internationally, striving for an average growth rate of the trade and service sector reaching from 13% to 15% during the period from now to 2010; forming a system of trading centers, including some centers and supermarkets on par with those in the region.

Diversifying and improving the quality and efficiency of various forms of tourism; forming reasonable tourist routes to attract visitors, building a comprehensive technical infrastructure to meet accommodation needs for both domestic and foreign tourists.

Diversifying service forms in fields such as finance, banking, telecommunications, port services... to serve production and daily life.

3. On agriculture, forestry, fisheries:

On agriculture: gradually exploiting idle land for agricultural production. Intensifying cultivation, expanding specialized crop areas in suitable regions to increase the volume of commercial products. Applying scientific and technological progress and new technologies together with appropriate policies and mechanisms to promote production. At the same time, planning and implementing measures to prevent natural disasters and floods.

Developing forestry, reforesting barren hills and mountains (concentrated in Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Dong Nai); rapidly increasing and stabilizing coastal protective forests, particularly mangrove forests in Can Gio district - Ho Chi Minh City and along the coast of Ba Ria - Vung Tau, focusing on paper raw material forests, national forests, and upper watershed forests of Tri An.

Developing marine and fisheries activities across harvesting, breeding, processing, and related services and consumption support. Enhancing marine exploitation capacity, strengthening distant-water fishing, applying new scientific and technological advancements to production. Investing deeply to upgrade existing service facilities supporting the fishing industry. Encouraging various economic sectors to invest and promote the development of the marine and fisheries industry.

4. Developing infrastructure:

Completing and initially modernizing the infrastructure system is a priority task that should precede other developments. Rapidly constructing major traffic arteries such as National Highway 51, National Highway 13, National Highway 22, and the Trans-Asia Highway, quickly improving urban transportation, upgrading Tan Son Nhat Airport (considering the construction of a new international airport for the region after Tan Son Nhat Airport becomes overloaded).

Quickly upgrading the Saigon Port cluster, upgrading and building new clusters such as Thi Vai Port, Sao Mai - Ben Dinh Port, and existing river ports.

Renovating the railway hub in Ho Chi Minh City, building railway lines from Ho Chi Minh City to Vung Tau, Phnom Penh, Southwest Vietnam, and Central Highlands.

Upgrading and building new power grid networks corresponding to power sources, meeting production and living requirements.

Modernizing communication networks, expanding mobile communications, data transmission networks, postal services, coastal communications, broadcasting, and television coverage throughout the region.

Renovating, upgrading, and building water supply and drainage systems in large cities and concentrated industrial zones, ensuring clean water needs for production, business, and daily life, improving living conditions and environmental hygiene in urban and rural areas.

5. Developing cultural, health, and social sectors:

Developing and enhancing the quality and effectiveness of the education and training system to improve public knowledge and meet the human resource needs for industrialization and modernization in the region and throughout the country. Completing the eradication of illiteracy and universalizing primary education for children of school age by the year 2000 and universalizing lower secondary education by the year 2005.

Developing a network of primary healthcare services, medical examinations and treatments for the people, investing in upgrading existing hospitals, and improving service quality for the people. Building centers for treating foreign patients, initially in Ho Chi Minh City and Vung Tau.

Attracting various sources of capital and investment forms for the development of science and technology in the region. Expanding research methods applying advanced scientific and technological progress. Strengthening the system of research trial sites, demonstration farms, industry promotion, forestry promotion, and fisheries promotion within the region.

III. MAJOR SOLUTIONS:

1. Based on the main contents of the approved planning, provinces and cities within the Southern Key Economic Region must concretize the orientation and tasks of economic and social development of the plan through long-term, medium-term, and short-term plans, specific investment programs, and projects. At the same time, adjust the overall socio-economic development planning of each province and city that has been approved to be consistent with this overall planning.

2. Solutions regarding capital, human resources, science and technology, and market must be concretized through appropriate mechanisms and policies according to the conditions of each province and city. These solutions must be synchronized and mobilize all domestic and foreign resources to serve the economic and social development of the Southern Key Economic Region.

3. Based on the common development goals and tasks of the region's economic sectors, provinces and cities in the Southern Key Economic Region need to review the list of investment programs and projects to rearrange priorities more reasonably. During implementation, regular monitoring and timely adjustments are necessary to ensure the investment efficiency of different sources of capital.

Article 2. Chairperson Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of the dossier as mentioned in Sub-clause b, Clause 1, Article 3 above, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will review and submit to the competent authority for decision (Issues exceeding the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' jurisdiction will be referred to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision).The People's Committees of provinces and cities in the Southern Key Economic Region are responsible for strictly supervising the implementation of this planning and reflecting it in five-year plans, annual plans, and investment development programs and projects consistent with the overall regional planning.

Central ministries and sectors have the responsibility to coordinate and support provinces and cities in the Southern Key Economic Region during the process of formulating and implementing investment programs and projects to ensure consistency between the socio-economic development planning of each province and city and the overall planning of the Southern Key Economic Region and the national master planning.

Article 3. This Decision takes effect fifteen days from the date of signature. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of agencies under the Government, Chairmen Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of the dossier as mentioned in Sub-clause b, Clause 1, Article 3 above, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will review and submit to the competent authority for decision (Issues exceeding the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' jurisdiction will be referred to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision).of the People's Committees of provinces and cities in the Southern Key Economic Region are responsible for enforcing this Decision./.