The Government has decided to give subsidies and preferential policies to key regions from the north to the south in a bid to increase their annual economic growth rates to between 10-13 percent by 2010.

Under a recent decision of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, 14 provinces in the northern mid-land and mountainous region and some districts in central Thanh Hoa and Nghe An provinces will receive a subsidy of 70 billion VND at maximum to build industrial zones and purchase saplings for planting high-value industrial crops. Farmers in the regions will be enjoy a 50 percent cut in bank loan interest rates for planting industrial crops.

To minimise the number of families suffering chronic or between-crop food shortage and to raise the GDP growth rate of the region to 12 percent by 2010, the PM has urged the region to accelerate the socio-economic infrastructure construction.

He also asked to pay special attention to the construction of industrial zones along the corridor linking China’s Yunnan with Lao Cai province and Ha Noi and Hai Phong cities of Viet Nam, and the Lang Son-Bac Giang-Ha Noi and Hoa Binh-Son La-Dien Bien-Lai Chau routes in order to take full use of the region’s advantages.

For northern central and central coastal localities from Thanh Hoa to Binh Thuan provinces, the Government will have concrete measures to mobilise investment capital, aiming to raise the region’s GDP growth rate to between 10-11 percent per annum by 2010.

Priorities will be given to key projects, including the Vung Ang thermo-electric plant, Thach Khe iron mine, Vung Ang and Dung Quat steel plants and a number of projects to build hospitals in Vinh, Hue, Da Nang, Quy Nhon and Nha Trang cities.

For the Central Highlands - a fertile land for rubber, coffee, cashew, cotton, etc - processing industries will be developed into key economic industries as an answer to the question of how to obtain a GDP growth rate of 13 percent by 2010.

Human resource development is another issue of special concern. Teachers and medical workers who work in underprivileged hamlets and villages stay for long years will be provided with houses, and businesses will be financed for personnel training.

For the country’s rice bowl Mekong Delta region, the Government will have policies on agricultural and rural development, including the provision of land for farmers.

The region is expected to form areas specialising in high-quality rice production and aquaculture for exports by 2010.

Source: VNA