Binh Phuoc Province: Great Improvement in Business Environment

Binh Phuoc province is drastically carrying out many solutions and actions for stronger competitiveness and better business climate, thus drawing more investors to the province to jointly make development breakthroughs. Ms. Tran Tue Hien, Chairwoman of the Binh Phuoc Provincial People's Committee, gives an exclusive interview to Vietnam Business Forum, on this topic. Ngo Khuyen reports.

With impressive results in economic growth and investment attraction in 2020, and determination for stronger expansion, Binh Phuoc set the following targets in 2021: GRDP growth of 8.5-9%, investment growth of 16.4% and export growth of 9.2%. How do you view these goals and what will the province focus on to achieve them?

In 2021 - the first year of enforcing the Resolution of the 11th Provincial Party Congress, the 2020-2025 tenure and the beginning of the development acceleration and breakthrough period, with the motto “Unity, discipline, innovation, creativity, action and aspiration for development”, especially aspiration for development, Binh Phuoc province set many development goals higher than national medians and higher than its own goals in previous years. The province has drastically, synchronously and effectively carried out tasks and solutions to accomplish these goals.

First of all, in early 2021, besides focusing on actions and tasks to serve the election of the 15th National Assembly and the People's Councils all levels for the 2021-2026 term, the province has directed relevant bodies and localities to accelerate preparations and action programs to execute the Resolutions of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Council.

Binh Phuoc has also proactively and flexibly carried out the “dual goals” of preventing and controlling the COVID-19 epidemic outbreak while recovering and promoting business growth and enhancing adaptability; accelerated economic restructuring and changed the growth pattern; improved economic productivity, quality, performance, autonomy and competitiveness based on science, technology and innovation. The province has also mobilized and used resources to quicken the construction and ratification of local planning and strongly implemented key socioeconomic infrastructure projects. In addition, Binh Phuoc has stepped up administrative reform, enhanced administrative performance and personnel quality; and built an enabling administrative system of integrity, action and service.

Based on the resolutions of the Government, the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Council on socioeconomic development tasks in 2021, the Provincial People's Committee requested relevant agencies and local governments to adopt drastic, flexible and effective solutions; raise a sense of responsibility; and clearly define functions, tasks, responsibilities and authority of each agency. The committee also regularly checked and monitored the progress of executing appropriate, timely and flexible measures to achieve the highest goals.

In the 2020-2021 term, the Provincial Party Committee determined to focus on three strategic breakthroughs: Infrastructure investment, administrative procedure reform and human resource development. How has the provincial government planned to execute these programs?

Binh Phuoc is located in the southern key economic region, acting as a bridge between the Southeast region and the Central Highlands and an important gateway of the East-West Economic Corridor. In the coming years, the province has many opportunities to make breakthroughs when the global supply chain is being shifted to new locations and economic activities in the Ho Chi Minh City region are being spread and expanded.

In order to translate the Resolution of the 11th Provincial Party Congress into crosscutting breakthrough programs; and clearly define key tasks, resource allocations and investment phaseouts, the Provincial People’s Committee approved the Action Plan with 11 key programs, chaired by four action steering committees. The resolution also defined the goal that, by 2025, Binh Phuoc will become an industrialized province, rated as a rapidly and sustainably developed province, with a relatively large economic scale in the Southeast region. At the same time, the province has affirmed three strategic breakthroughs in the coming period, including (1) the breakthrough program for infrastructure development, (2) the breakthrough program for administrative procedure reform, information technology application, e-government and smart city construction, and (3) the breakthrough program for human resource development.

The breakthrough program for infrastructure development is being drastically carried out from 2021 with 20 tasks, schemes and projects, including many important inter-region projects that have been approved by the Prime Minister in principle such as important interregional projects like Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh Expressway, a 70 km long traffic route approved by the Prime Minister and assigned to Binh Phuoc province for implementation, investment and construction. The Prime Minister also agreed to upgrade Provincial Road 753B and Ma Da bridge linking Binh Phuoc to Long Thanh Airport, Chon Thanh - Dak Nong Expressway, Dong Phu - Binh Duong Road and Di An - Hoa Lu Railway. These major projects remove connectivity bottlenecks for Binh Phuoc with other localities in the southern key economic region.

The breakthrough program on administrative procedure reform, which continues to advance information technology application, e-government and smart city construction, sets the following goals: Building an enabling government system, serving legitimate interests of people and businesses, and placing businesses at the heart of development. Therefore, the province is building a complete project to improve the quality of e-government and smart cities in the 2021-2025 period; from May 19, 2021, 100% of online public services in the province reached Level 4 on the National Public Service Portal. Binh Phuoc also continues to effectively operate e-government platforms such as online video conferencing systems applied from provincial to communal levels; internet-based document management; electronic single-window information system; and Intelligent Operations Center (IOC).

The breakthrough program on human resource development, especially high-quality human resources aimed to approach the Industry 4.0 megatrend, is implemented with such projects as building smart schools; consolidating and upgrading Binh Phuoc Vocational College; reviewing and amending regulations and policies on personnel development in 2020-2025; improving the quality of smart schools and teaching Vietnamese - English bilinguals in the school system; and reviewing, amending and supplementing policies on human resource attraction.

With decisive firm actions to carry out three strategic breakthroughs, Binh Phuoc province will overcome bottlenecks and limitations to accelerate socio-economic development in the 2021-2025 period and lay the foundation for the following years.

Based on what it has performed and achieved in 2020, broad room and particularly high determination will create great motivation for improving the province’s PCI in the coming years. So, how will Binh Phuoc spread its determination?

The Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) 2020 of Binh Phuoc substantially climbed in score (0.21 points) and rankings (11 places) over 2019. Particularly, the proactivity of the provincial government strongly increased from 5.39 points (ranked No. 62 out of 63 provinces and cities) in 2019 to 6.28 points (ranked No. 36). Indicators, highly appreciated by enterprises, included: “Enterprises receive feedback from provincial administrative agencies after reporting difficulties and problems” reached 100%, the highest in the country; “Enterprises satisfied with responses/solutions of provincial administrative agencies” reached 89%, ranking No. 7 out of 63 provinces and cities; “There are good initiatives at the provincial level but they are not well implemented by departments/sectors” slid to 66% (versus 81% and 83% in 2018 and 2019, respectively), ranking No. 14.

To have this outcome, in addition to focusing on good control of the COVID-19 epidemic outbreak in 2020, the province accelerated the implementation of socioeconomic development solutions and tasks. The Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee drastically directed concerned agencies and units to create all favorable conditions for business operations; and reviewed and minimized conditions and procedures for people and businesses. In administration, relevant agencies and localities also had many innovative regulations and leadership methods and directions, and upheld responsibility of public employees and leaders.

The province brought 100% of administrative procedures to the Public Administration Service Center where reception, appraisal, approval and result delivery are handled; sped up information technology application, operated the online public service system from May 19, 2020, the Intelligent Operations Center from July 1, 2020 to create the foundation for e-government construction and improve administrative capacity for better service to people and businesses.

In the coming time, along with continued execution of above tasks and solutions in a consistent manner, the province will also implement the District and Department Competitiveness Index (DDCI) Project for the 2021-2025 period, thus diffusing resolve and tasks of improving competitiveness from provincial to local levels to the entire political system.

Thank you very much!

Source: Vietnam Business Forum