Currently, Thai Binh province has 241 cottage industry villages certified by the Provincial People's Committee. The production value of handicraft villages was estimated at VND1,439 billion in the first six months of 2013, up 6.5 percent over the same period of 2012 and equal to 23.8 percent of the province’s industrial output value. Overall, cottage industry villages have been maintained and developed. They create stable paid jobs for thousands of local workers.
However, companies in cottage industry villages have suffered tremendous difficulties due to global and domestic economic crises. Many companies in cottage industry villages have to scale down or even terminate operations. They have difficulty accessing bank loans and are usually imposed very high rates. Besides, environmental, land, transportation, tax and electricity issues are seriously distressing businesses.
Companies expect banks to streamline borrowing procedures, reduce interest rates, and facilitate companies to access concessional loans in a fast, convenient manner. The province government needs to have soft loan policies for big exporters and introduce support mechanism and policy for textile companies in cottage industry villages to purchase looms. The construction of centralised wastewater treatment facilities in industrial complexes and cottage industry villages must be accelerated. Environmental polluters must be strictly handled.
The province also needs to restore and upgrade roads for easy circulation of goods, simplify administrative procedures to facilitate companies to expand production spaces, support them to promote trade to expand markets and boost sales.
Companies in cottage industry villages have increased incomes and generated stable employment for many local workers. In the coming time, Thai Binh province will step up public administration reform to streamline administrative procedures, create an easygoing mechanism for investors, and attract more companies to the province to generate more jobs for local labourers. The Provincial People’s Committee of Thai Binh has instructed its subordinates to review vocational training programmes for rural workers, build criteria and select labour-intensive companies and industries for labour training support. The provincial government also considers issuing policies to provide partial financial supports for companies in cottage industry villages to purchase machinery and equipment for production expansion.
As regards new countryside construction, Thai Binh province now has 10 communes satisfying 15 - 18 criteria, 116 communes meeting 11 - 14 criteria, 100 communes meeting 8 - 10 criteria, and 40 communes meeting 6 - 8 criteria. Social and cultural aspects, national security, social order and safety, Party and government construction, and livelihoods of the people continue to be improved. The government, from the provincial to local levels, is actively removing difficulties for enterprises, accelerating budget disbursement for basic infrastructure construction projects, granting land-use rights certificates, and building clinics and preschools for poor communes.
Le Sang
Vietnamese
