It is only 18 months before Thua Thien - Hue province becomes a centrally governed city. The decline in provincial competitiveness index (PCI) requires more efforts from the government and the people. Vietnam Business Forum interviews Mr Nguyen Van Cao, Chairman of Provincial People’s Committee, on this issue. Phan Quang reports.
The year 2012 witnessed the province's endeavour to build infrastructure to create the foundation for being a centrally run city. After a year, what are the clearest results of the efforts Thua Thien - Hue province has made?
Since late 2011 and early 2012, the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People's Council and the Provincial People's Committee issued resolutions on construction and development of centrally governed Thua Thien Hue City. The leading contents of these resolutions are developing the province into a centre of unique culture and tourism of the country, a centre of science and technology, a centre for high-quality education, and a centre of specialised medicine from 2011 to 2015, with a vision to 2020.
We have completed seven out of 19 urban plans as specified in the project “Building Hue into a centrally run city” and are completing six out of 19 plans for the formation of the new city.
Hue City is upgrading urban transport systems, sidewalks, drainage systems, lighting systems and green space. Da Vien Bridge has been completed, bridges spanning the An Cuu and Dong Ba Rivers are being upgraded. Apart from An Cuu City, new urban zones are taking shape, including An Van Duong, Phu My Thuong and Thuy Duong.
Thuan An Town is being invested and upgraded to become a fourth-grade urban zone. The construction of Huong Thuy, Huong Tra, Phu Da and Sia Towns is being accelerated.
External traffic routes are being upgraded, including runways in Phu Bai International Airport and National Road 1A, which was kicked off in May. Besides, urban zone-linking traffic routes are also being built, such as Hue - Ha Tu - Binh Dien axis and Nguyen Chi Thanh - Quang Dien Road.
Information technology infrastructure is invested to build e-government. Up to now, all communes and wards have internet connections and fibre-optic cables. Waste treatment systems are also built in Hue city.
So, what do you have to share with investors when they come to the province now?
The province’s economic power is increasing. The economic growth averages 12 per cent annually. In 2012, GDP growth was only 9.7 per cent due to general economic slowdown. The economic structure is shifting towards a modern pattern. Thua Thien Hue is the destination of 66 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects from 16 countries and territories around the world. We welcome all investment projects for culture, tourism, healthcare, education, high technology and science. Come to Hue to prosper together.
The government is committed to provide easy access to planning information and related legal documents on land for investors. Our ‘one-stop source’ mechanism is ready to serve businesses and citizens.
And, do you think it is very important to further popularise opportunities for prosperous development in Thua Thien Hue?
That’s right. If we do not make known our advantages and potentials, investors will not know. So, we have recently organised many investment promotion activities, participated in an investment promotion conference with nine central coastal provinces, and published information on the province’s websites. We also regularly work with ODA donors. We have completed introductory documents about Hue for the Japanese market and we are building introductory documents for the South Korea market. Besides, Hue is also the destination of many embassies and embassy counsellors. This is an important and effective investment promotion channel.
In another aspect, businesses will knock on the door of authorities when they face difficulty, even to express their frustrations; how is this going in Thua Thien Hue?
It is very easy for businesses here to contact governmental leaders. I myself meet businesses four or five times each week. We are always pleased to talk with businesses and investors. We will do our best for the development of businesses and for the sustainable development of Thua Thien Hue.
If we find red tape, we will make changes, even personnel changes (Department of Planning and Investment replaced the entire business registration division). In the context of general economic downturn, Thua Thien Hue wants to talk and have more contact with businesses and associations to identify problems and seek solutions.
Some complain that Thua Thien Hue gives priority only to major enterprises and big projects rather than small, local ones. What do you think about this?
Why wouldn't we care about taxpaying enterprises? But, we must admit the fact that Hue-based enterprises lack initiatives and coordination. The province has four fishery companies but two are struggling for existence because of insufficient capital, farming and processing technology. CP Company of Thailand invested in the province and it brought new varieties, technologies and sciences along with it. These will motivate local enterprises.
Local enterprises need a stronger coordination and boldness in their business activities. We are always willing to listen and accompany businesses.
According to PCI survey teams, Thua Thien Hue is dynamic and aggressive in regulating, supervising and inspecting the implementation of PCI increase plans. However, is the time remaining enough for the task?
This is absolutely an issue. Since 2008, the province has put forth many new policies for PCI improvement, from information transparency to land procedure order. However, we cannot reach the outcome immediately but we need 3 - 5 years to assess their effectiveness. In the long term, many projects licensed to do business in Thua Thien Hue province did not fulfil their commitments or transferred their projects to other investors. We decided to review licensed projects and this had an impact on investors outlook. But, this is what we need to do.
We need to continue accompanying businesses as the economy is forecast to continue facing difficulties in 2013. With PCI, we evaluate and analyse every detail about downgraded and upgraded items and place them in the overall PCI picture. Then, we assign specific tasks for each locality and each sector. We also consult provinces with the highest PCI to learn from their experience. Then, we can introduce specific solutions and tasks to improve the province's competitiveness in the future.
Vietnamese
