Since becoming a centrally run city in 2004 and a first-grade urban area, Can Tho City has become more prosperous and dynamic. With quicker industrialisation and modernisation and deeper international integration, the Mekong Delta downstream city of Can Tho has striven to be an industrial, trade - service, tourism, education - training, scientific, medical - cultural centre; a domestic and international transport hub; and a strategic actor in national defence and security of the Mekong Delta and the country.
Mr Vo Thanh Thong, Chairman of Can Tho People’s Committee, said, to achieve these targets, the city has focused on deploying Plan 30/KH-UBND dated March 10, 2016 on economic restructuring in the 2016 - 2020 period, determined to attain intensive, quality-based economic growth and enhance economic performance and competitiveness; directed economic transformation into strong fields and created quality, effective and competitive development resources for every sector and field to meet market and international integration requirements; and effectively restructured public investment, banking system, and urbanisation towards a modern city. By 2020, the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth is expected to grow 7.5 - 8 per cent a year. Specifically, agriculture, forestry and fishery will expand 1.2 per cent; industry and construction sector will increase 7.9 per cent; and service sector will look up 8.2 per cent.
By deploying economic restructuring plans according to the Prime Minister’s Decision 339/QD-TTg dated February 19, 2013 approving the master plan for economic restructuring in couple with growth model transformation to enhance economic quality, performance and competitiveness in the 2013 - 2020 period; and Programme 07/CTr-UBND of the Can Tho People’s Committee dated April 22, 2013 on implementation of the master plan on economic restructuring in couple with changing growth model in the 2013 – 2020 period, Can Tho City has increasingly improved its competitiveness and continuously reaped important achievements in administrative reform and investment attraction and created motive forces for inclusive socioeconomic development. Specifically, Can Tho City’s economic growth is quite good, with the GRDP per capita rising to VND65.3 million in 2016 and the Human Development Index (HDI) reaching 0.81. The economic structure has shifted positively, with the share of agriculture and fishery accounting for 9.32 per cent, the share of industry and construction making up 32.53 per cent and the share of trade and service contributing 58.15 per cent. The Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) of Can Tho City has looked up. In 2016, its PCI scored 61.14 points (an increase of 1.33 points over 2015), ranked 11th out of 63 provinces and cities in the country (going up three places over 2015) and ranked third out of 13 Mekong Delta provinces and cities (climbing up two places over 2015). “With its efforts to reform all aspects, the city is rated to have good administration and friendly business environment recognised and appreciated by the business community,” said Chairman Vo Thanh Thong.
The above achievements are resulted from the efforts of the whole political system; the shrewd direction of the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal People’s Committee and all-tier governments; the focus on infrastructure investment, administrative procedure reform, investment and business environment improvement, and domestic and foreign investment attraction, thus enabling the local economy to maintain high growth rate with better quality. The city has effectively invested VND40 trillion, mobilised from various sources, for development. It has rationally and focally allocated resources to avoid wasteful spreading investment to enhance investment efficiency. Besides, Can Tho has drastically reformed public services to better the business and investment environment; translated objectives, tasks and solutions stated in the public administration reform programme (first phase) in the 2011 – 2015 period into action plans; issued Plan 63/KH-UBND dated May 28, 2015 on implementation of the Government's Resolution 19/NQ-CP in 2015; and pressed departments and localities to carry out nine tasks and 63 working contents concerning PCI improvement.
Determined to draw more investment capital and enhance competitiveness and international economic integration, Can Tho City has stepped up economic restructuring with focus placed on three pillars of public, State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and banking system. The city has coupled economic restructuring with changing growth model and raising productivity, quality, performance and competitiveness. Together with better infrastructure, higher human resource quality and competitive advantages of the city, local enterprises and investment projects have contributed significantly to promoting economic growth, improving investment efficiency, boosting industrial production capacity, enhancing three-layer competitiveness of city, company and product. These forces in combination have generated a synergy of the city's advantages and investment flows to turn Can Tho into a magnet destination for domestic and international investors and advance international economic integration.
Hoang Lam
Vietnamese
October 2024
Hanoi