Hai Duong strives to become a modern industrial province, a dynamic industrial center of the Red River Delta, and to be a major economy in the country by 2030. 2025 is a pivotal year for the province to accelerate progress and complete socioeconomic development goals for the 2020-2025 phase and firmly advance into the new era with the whole country.
Solid foundation
Lying at the heart of the northern key economic zone, Hai Duong is a sacred land of extraordinary people, a place where beautiful and sustainable cultural values and desires for being better and stronger converge. It is the gateway to major economic centers of the country. A synchronous transportation system with a series of gigantic projects has facilitated trade, investment and economic development.
In addition, its advantages come from natural resources, a young, dynamic and better-trained population ready to meet the needs of key economic sectors.
Based on these strengths, Hai Duong has diversified its industrial, agricultural and service sectors. In 2024, despite facing enormous difficulties and challenges, the province still achieved outstanding and comprehensive results, obtained and exceeded most of 15 social and economic development targets, with many regarded as stunning breakthroughs.
Specifically, gross regional domestic product (GRDP) rose by more than 1.13 times from 2023 to VND212,386 billion. Economic growth climbed over 10.2%, higher than the national average, to rank 6th out of 63 provinces and cities (7 places higher than in 2023), highest in the 2020-2025 term. State budget revenue jumped 38% year on year to all-time highs of VND30,774 billion, 59% higher than the target set for the year. Domestic direct investment (DDI) was valued at VND11,489 billion, 1.2 times higher than in 2023, and foreign direct investment (FDI) fund reached US$718.1 million. The economy was further modernized, with a rising share of industry and services.
Along with the economy, cultural and social aspects also developed. The material and spiritual life of people constantly improved. The poverty rate fell to 1.2%.
Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Ngoc Chau inspects the East-West Axis Road project in Kim Thanh district
These achievements not only mark a strong transformation that reaffirmed the effort of the Party, the government and the people, but also demonstrated its aspirations for and confidence in the new amazing growth in the new era.
According to the Provincial Planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, Hai Duong will be a modern industrial province with a large economic scale in the country, have synchronous infrastructure, a green, smart and unique urban system, and meet some basic criteria of a centrally run city by 2030. By 2050, it will achieve the criteria of a centrally governed city, become a modern, green, smart, secure, safe and sustainable city, deeply integrate into the international community, uphold its rich cultural identity and act as an important driving force of socioeconomic development in the Red River Delta.
The province defined five main pillars for development: High-tech industry and supporting industry; High-quality services; Green, modern, smart urbanization; High-tech commercial agriculture and organic agriculture; and Social security and environmental protection. Hai Duong has actively enticed big firms to lead smaller ones to participate in innovation, creativity, value chains and high-tech applications.
Aspiration, belief and action
The year 2025 is of special importance, the final year of the 2020-2025 current administration term. The province has regarded it as the year of acceleration, breakthrough and realization. The province will need to both effectively reorganize the apparatus and successfully organize the Party Congresses at all levels towards the 14th National Party Congress.
A specialized economic zone is being prepared for deployment in Binh Giang and Thanh Mien districts, Hai Duong province
The province's development growth targets include the GRDP growth of over 10%, the ratio of development investment capital to GRDP at 30%, domestic budget revenue growth of over 10%, the value of harvested products per hectare of cultivated land and aquaculture of VND212 million and 20.2% of communes meeting model new rural development standards.
To complete the above tasks, Party committees and authorities at all levels need to change their mindset, stay decisive in leadership and direction, and create new momentum and new spirit.
Accordingly, the province will continue to closely follow the direction and administration of the Government and the Prime Minister; synchronously and effectively implement socioeconomic development tasks and solutions; promote the comprehensive implementation of signed cooperation contents; and utilize advantages of the free trade agreements (FTAs) to expand cooperation relations and consumption markets.
The province will proactively review and remove difficulties and obstacles; strongly and substantially improve the investment and business environment and uphold the responsibility of leaders; complete technical infrastructure and social infrastructure; prioritize key transport projects to create breakthroughs in socioeconomic development and urbanization like Specialized Economic Zone Infrastructure Project, Cultural and Sports Complex Project, urban development projects, and large-scale cultural tourism and resort projects. It will strengthen training and development of human resources, especially high-quality human resources; improve and enhance the quality and operational capacity of the healthcare system; and effectively apply social security in the locality.
In addition, seeing investment promotion as the foundation for creating motivation and trust for businesses, Hai Duong has reformed a lot in this activity. The province has actively organized conferences and meetings for investors and businesses to grasp information. Working delegations of the province and representatives of some businesses regularly join investment promotion in the US, Japan, France, Belgium and the UK to seek opportunities and attract investors.
In addition to adopting a variety of investment promotion activities domestically and internationally, provincial leaders require advisory agencies to regularly compile periodic or ad hoc reports on project progress to promptly remove obstacles for investors. Investment management has been intensified while infrastructure planning and investment in industrial zones has been accelerated. On February 19, 2025, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision 358/QD-UBND on the establishment of the Investment Promotion and Business Support Center.
As a result, investment procedures are resolved quickly and punctually, with the least backlog and overdue records. Currently, all administrative procedures, fees and charges, planning documents, legal documents and budget documents are made public for businesses and investors to access them easily. The province regularly updates the list of investment projects seeking for fund and bidding projects to select investors as well as preferential policies, support, administrative procedures relating to investment and business, so that businesses can easily access information and learn about investment. The Administrative Reform Index of Hai Duong province ranked 22nd nationwide in 2023, climbing up 25 places from 2022.
Like other provinces and cities across the country, closely following the rearrangement of administrative units according to Resolution 18-NQ/TW, Hai Duong is vigorously arranging and streamlining its political apparatus in line with central resolutions and conclusions of the Politburo. Execution is consistent, public and democratic while the streamlined arrangement does not disrupt regular operations of affected agencies and units.
Moreover, the province will continue to speed up economic restructuring; change growth models; improve productivity and competitiveness based on the foundation of digital transformation, science and technology, innovation; develop green economy, circular economy; and develop new business models and startup ecosystem.
Currently, Hai Duong has over 21,000 registered companies, of which over 9,600 are doing business and making investments. This will be an important force for the province to realize its goal of becoming a modern industrial province, a dynamic industrial center of the Red River Delta, and a large economy in the country by 2030.
Based on its achievements, solidarity tradition and high determination of the Party along with the joint effort and consensus of the people and the business community, Hai Duong is accelerating with the country to firmly advance into a new era - the ascending era of the nation.
By Ha Thanh, Vietnam Business Forum
Vietnamese
