Prime Minister says Hai Phong needs to exploit coastal potential

HAI PHONG — Hai Phong City needed to take full advantage of its potential to become an industrialised city with a focus on maritime services by 2015, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said yesterday.

Dung and other members of the Politburo were attending a meeting with Hai Phong's municipal Party Standing Committee to discuss draft documents and personnel planning for the city's Party Congress for the 2010-15 period.

During the last five years, according to reports by the city's committee, the city had overcome various difficulties to record achievements in all fields, with gross domestic product increasing by 11.15 per cent, and the rate of industry and services rising to 90 per cent of the local economy.

The rate of poor households decreased to 3.8 per cent, the political situation and social order and security had remained stable, while achievements were recorded in building the Party organisations and political system had been properly implemented.

However, the Politburo noted that the city still had some weaknesses. The economy had not developed in compliance with its potential, and the knowledge-based economy had not met the demands of development.

Urban construction, planning and management had been weak and the fight against corruption and waste had not met expectations.

Dung said Hai Phong should focus on developing its ports and infrastructure, seaport services and tourism. The city's leaders needed to implement administrative reform to facilitate investment in order to achieve certain goals; including an increase of the GDP to 13 per cent per year, income per capita to be raised to US$3,000 by 2015, and the rate of poor households to drop to 1 per cent.

He added the city also had to pay more attention to environmental protection.

In addition, the city must build a strong and transparent Party committee with a qualified staff.

In terms of the proposal for personnel planning for the city's Party Committee congress, the Politburo said the city should try to select and encourage younger deputies and better manage staff. —VNS