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Apart from having the unique advantage of being the birthplace of the late President Ho Chi Minh, Nghe An also enjoys favourable transportation since it lies in the centre of the north-central region and the north-south and east-west exchange route; boasts road, railway, aviation, seaway and inland waterway routes and serves as a gateway to the East Sea from central Laos and northeast Thailand via the Thanh Thuy border gate, he reminded participants. According to him, Nghe An is also endowed with vast land coverage and abundant human resources, including more and more intellectuals and engineers coming home to do business. It has also built eco-friendly projects and made infrastructure breakthroughs in the service of socio-economic development. In order to make it a well-off locale, he suggested mapping out a master plan for the sustainable development of industry, agriculture and infrastructure while boosting connectivity with south Thanh Hoa Province and the north Ha Tinh Province and accelerating administrative reform. At the same time, the province should save and effectively tap natural resources, pool public involvement in science, education and health care and attract investment in high added value. Social security and safety must be ensured, especially in mountainous areas, he directed. The Vietnamese government is determined to develop the economy without sacrificing the environment, he repeated, adding that it will also be resolved to build a transparent, constructive, action-orientated cabinet, which will protect people’s rights and assets. The government will endeavour to develop a pro-business environment and maintain macro-economy stability and an environment of peace and friendship, he vowed. The leader also pledged incentives for investors in the support and high-tech industries and tourism, and hoped that Nghe An would take the lead in such fields and continue changing its mindset for robust socio-economic development. Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Xuan Duong mentioned nine comprehensive measures to make Nghe An an attractive business destination in the near future, including simplifying administrative procedures and cutting the time for granting investment licenses to three days or even one day, and launching online public services at level 4 for business registration. The provincial authorities granted investment licenses to eight projects and signed 15 memoranda of understanding and cooperation agreements valued at over VND22.62 trillion (US$983.8 million). It was the ninth time the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) has sponsored the annual event, which attracted hundreds of enterprises and investors at home and abroad and saw the presence of former National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung and Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue. Over the past nine years, Nghe An has wooed 804 projects worth more than VND261 trillion (US$11.34 billion), including 758 worth more than VND101.29 trillion (US$4.4 billion) and 46 foreign-funded ones with a total registered capital of over VND160.43 trillion (US$6.97 billion). This year, the locality targets attracting over 100 projects worth VND30-35 trillion (US$1.3-1.5 billion) and generating jobs for 13,000 – 15,000 workers. |