5:36:31 PM | 21/5/2013
In its socio-economic development, Kien Giang province has directed its branches and localities to focus on implementing the Government’s Resolution 01/NQ-CP and Resolution 13/NQ-CP. Therefore, in 2012, the province’s gross domestic product (GDP) reached VND23,590.2 billion (over US$1 billion), up 11.81 percent over 2011 and equal 99.8 percent of the plan. Per capita GDP was VND42.6 million (nearly US$2,000).
Good socio-economic growth
With the sound guidance of the Provincial People’s Committee and the unity of citizens, Kien Giang province managed to maintain good high socio-economic development in 2012 despite numerous difficulties and challenges arising from domestic economic slowdown.
Specifically, its GDP expanded 11.81 percent in 2012, a relatively high growth rate in the Mekong Delta (ranked third among 13 Mekong Delta provinces and cities). Many important development indicators completed or exceeded initial targets set by the Resolution of the People’s Council. Up to 12 indictors outpaced initial plans in the year. Remarkably, its food output set an all-time record and ranked first nationwide in food output for a second straight year. In spite of difficulties, cultural and social activities were still cared and had significant changes. Educational quality was raised up. Medical equipment and infrastructure were invested for improvements in public healthcare and disease treatment. Social welfare, employment and vocational training made good progress.
In agricultural production, Kien Giang focused on promoting sustainable production, implemented support and encouragement measures to develop intensive farming, transfer and application of science and technique, applied VietGAP standards to farming, developed 19 big sample fields with a total area of 2,183 ha, or an average of 114.9 ha a field. In fisheries, Kien Giang supported fishing companies to build larger offshore fishing ships and fishing apparatuses and culture aquatic creatures. In 2012, the province caught 548,182 tonnes of fish, equalling 96.77 percent of the plan and increasing 8.24 percent over 2011. Particularly, commercial fishing accounted for 421,201 tonnes, 0.29 percent higher than the plan and 6.11 percent higher than a year earlier while fish farming contributed 126,981 tonnes, 3.24 percent higher than the plan and 15.96 percent higher than that of 2011.
Investment situation in industrial zones has also improved. In 2012, Kien Giang licensed five projects into industrial zones, bringing the total number of projects in industrial parks to 13. Particularly, Thanh Loc Industrial Park has eight projects and Thuan Yen Industrial Park has five. The province is working with two investors with intention of building paper bulb plants and animal feed processing plants in Thanh Loc Industrial Park.
Kien Giang province also made good progress in trade and service in 2012. Retail revenue of goods and services was estimated at VND41,710.1 billion, equal to 97.45 percent of the full-year plan and 18.02 percent higher than in 2011. The province also organised and supported many enterprises to attend trade fairs in Vietnam and in foreign nations, and advocated the programme to sell domestic goods in the countryside. So far, the province has granted seven enterprises five-year rice export certification.
However, due to global economic slowdown, local enterprises faced more difficulties in boosting exports in 2012 while its key export, rice, had to compete fiercely with regional rivals while seafood processing companies sometimes fell short of inputs for production. In addition, rising input prices and slow sales caused inventories to increase rapidly. As a result, in 2012, its export turnover totalled US$620 million, fulfilling 93.94 percent of the full-year plan and equalling 98.88 percent of the last year’s value. Specifically, agricultural products brought in US$438 million, down 1.95 percent year on year, and seafood items generated US$157 million, up 1.52 percent year on year. The province shipped 1 million tonnes of rice in 2012, equal to 105.26 percent of the yearly plan and 3.71 percent higher than in 2011; exported 2,700 tonnes of frozen shrimp, down 22.86 percent year on year, exported 1,200 tonnes of frozen fish, down 76 percent from a year earlier. Import turnover was estimated at US$35 million, equal to 77.78 percent of the full-year plan and down 0.84 percent year on year.
With continued investments for tourist attractions, the province welcomed 3.8 million tourists in 2012, equal to 106.49 percent of the annual plan and 3.25 percent more than a year earlier. Accommodation facilities continued to be invested for quality improvement. In 2012, the province licensed 20 tourism investment projects, which require a total of 481.99 ha of land and have a total investment capital of VND5,847.63 billion.
In education and training, Kien Giang focally improved the quality of teaching and learning and successfully organised graduation exams. The province granted graduation certificates for 9,199 high school students, or 99.63 percent of total candidate students and to 1,220 continuation-education students, or 86.34 percent of the total. Up to 98.58 percent of junior school students and 99.61 percent of elementary students passed on next schooling levels. Up to 60 percent of high-school graduates passed university and college entrance examinations in 2012, representing a rise of nearly 10 percent over 2011. Currently, Kien Giang province has 115 schools meeting national standards, including 14 kindergartens, 71 primary schools, 29 secondary schools and one high school, an increase of 19 schools from a year earlier.
The province also focused on public health care. Last year, the health sector of Kien Giang province effectively implemented national health programmes and disease prevention and control activities. The sector also intensified inspections in sanitation and safety of foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics as well as in private clinics. Presently, the province has 127 clinics in communes, wards and towns meeting national standards, or 88.81 percent. 65 communes have permanent doctor and the rest have rotating doctors. 100 percent of commune-level clinics have the presence of doctors and all clinics have midwives or obstetrical physicians. Over 70 percent of villages have first-aid teams.
Promoting potential, advantageous fields
In 2013, Kien Giang province will focus its efforts and resources to develop production and business activities, especially its potential and advantageous fields, and develop social security by investing in medical, cultural and social fields.
In agriculture, the province will deploy VietGAP-standard high-quality rice cultivating fields, expand the area of autumn-winter rice from 72,000 ha to 80,000-85,000 ha, expand the application of big sample fields, encourage farmers to use high-yield, high-quality varieties to increase the area of high-quality rice to 80 percent of the total rice area.
The province will encourage businesses to purchase, process, export, sign purchase contacts with farmers in order to develop big sample fields and high-quality rice fields. It will also review and adjust shrimp culturing farms in Tu Giac Long Xuyen area in the 2012 - 2015 period, with vision towards 2020, while enlarging shrimp farming areas by 500 ha in Kien Luong and Giang Thanh districts, turn additional 3,000 ha of shrimp farms in Binh Tri commune, Kien Luong district. The province will support and facilitate enterprises to invest in shrimp farming, solve problems related to land allocation for shrimp farming expansion in Tu Giac Long Xuyen area. It will stabilise the area of rational shrimp farming (with rice) in U Minh Thuong area and reform current natural shrimp farming areas into professional shrimp farming.
In industry, Kien Giang will concentrate on resolving difficulties and obstacles in accelerating infrastructure investment in Thanh Loc and Thuan Yen industrial parks, build markets inside Ha Tien Border Gate Economic Zone, adjust development plans for small-scale industrial complexes, build rice processing facilities along waterway routes, and carry out agricultural and aquatic processing industrial development programmes, and apply tax, credit and land policies to support auxiliary industries, handicraft industries and cottage industries to create jobs for rural people.
The province will support enterprises to expand production, develop foreign markets, open new and big markets, and increase the exportation of value-added products while reducing the exportation of raw products. The province will promote border-gate trade, implement trade development cooperation programme with Chanthaburi province of Thailand and Kampot, Kep, Shihanou and Phnom Penh of Cambodia, step up export and import activities while enhancing and expanding foreign economic activities in order to develop investment, trade, tourism and economic cooperation, and expand export markets. With Kien Giang province will continue to implement the “Buy Vietnamese” campaign and bring Vietnamese goods to far-lying areas.
In tourism, Kien Giang will organise events and cultural festivals to enhance the true value of monuments, landscapes, and nature reserves, carry out master plans for tourism development, tourism product development, and tourism human resource development until 2020, with a vision to 2030. The province will also adjust Phu Quoc tourism development master plan till 2020, with a vision to 2030. Kien Giang will also step up the pace of construction of infrastructure in tourism sites, encourage travel and tourism companies to strengthen cooperation to effectively carry out inbound and outbound tours.
In education and training, the province will improve the quality of education and training, the quality of primary and secondary education, universalise preschool education, invest in education in poor regions, and raise the quality of teachers and educators.
Hoang Tung