Ninh Binh: Strong and Resilient on the New Path

From a poor province established over 30 years ago, Ninh Binh has risen to achieve outstanding economic development and investment attraction, balance its budget in 2022, and have many highly ranked development indicators. These results are an important foundation and motivation for the Party, government and people of the province to stay firm on the new path.

During a working session in Ninh Binh province in November 2022, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said he had instructed ministries and competent agencies to design a comprehensive package of support solutions for businesses

Strong and comprehensive development

Lying in the south of the Red River Delta with a natural area of 1,412 square kilometers and eight district-level administrative units (two cities and six districts), Ninh Binh province used to be the capital of the first centralized feudal state of Vietnam. This is also the only place in Southeast Asia that has a dual heritage. Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex was recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site.

Since its reestablishment over 30 years ago, in each period of development, Ninh Binh has made important strategic adjustments to its development policies to match actual conditions and available resources; and ceaselessly uphold its efforts, initiative, creativity and determination for upward development.

From a small agricultural province with slow and unstable growth, Ninh Binh has maintained a high economic growth rate over time: Nearly 8.9% a year in the 2016-2020 period. In particular, in 2020 and 2021, despite being heavily affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, Ninh Binh still stood among the best performers in the country, with 7.5% and 5.71% of growth, respectively. Its growth reached 8.8% 2022 and 7.56% in the first six months of 2023, ranked 12th in the country and 6th in the Red River Delta.

The province's economy has been constantly expanded, reaching nearly US$3.5 billion in 2022. The economic structure has been positively shifted towards a desired pattern where the share of industry and services will increase. By the end of 2022, the share of agriculture, forestry and fishery sector, the share of industry and construction sector and the share of service were 10.6%, 45.2% and 44.2%, respectively.

The province's budget revenue growth has stayed high. 2022 was the first year Ninh Binh realized its goal of self-balancing its budgetary revenue and expense. Its budget revenue hit the all-time high of VND24,300 billion, 21.4% higher than the target, ranking 15th out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide.

In addition, the economy has formed key growth-driving industries and products such as automobile manufacturing and auto parts production led by a joint venture between Hyundai Motor and Thanh Cong Group to manufacture and assemble automobiles at a designed annual output capacity of 195,000 units, making Ninh Binh one of the three largest automobile production centers in the country.

The tourism sector has developed quickly and effectively, led by the World Cultural and Natural World Heritage - Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, and the culture and people of Hoa Lu - the former capital of Vietnam. In 2022, Ninh Binh welcomed 3.69 million visitors, 3.6 times more than a year earlier, and made revenue of VND3,450 billion, 3.7 times higher. Thus, Ninh Binh becomes a bright spot on the tourist map of Vietnam (standing among 15 top destinations and 10 top tourist arrivals in the country), recognized by many reputable domestic and international travel websites (e.g. Tripadvisor, Telegraph and Business Insider) as the most attractive tourist destination.

New rural construction has achieved many positive results. 100% of communes have met new rural development standards, with 17 communes recognized to satisfy advanced rural development standards and 11 communes certified to meet model rural development standards. The infrastructure system has been upgraded, expanded and synchronously modernized, especially regional and inter-regional strategic transport infrastructure.

The province has 942 active projects with a total investment of VND171,713 billion (US$7.4 billion), including 93 FDI projects with US$1.58 billion invested by investors from 12 countries and territories.

In addition, cultural and social aspects have been comprehensively developed, particularly social security. Poverty rate and near-poverty rate, according to the multidimensional measure applied to in the 2022 - 2025 period, were 2.45% and 2.81% in late 2022, respectively. Defense, political security, social order and safety have been maintained. Foreign affairs have been expanded.

Strong resolve and effort to make breakthroughs

Ninh Binh is entering a new development stage, aiming to become a national tourism center and a moderately developed province by 2025, and a relatively developed province in the Red River Delta by 2030.

To achieve these goals, in the coming time, the province will focus on mobilizing all resources for economic development. In particular, the province will strive for sustainable development, effectively unlock local potential and advantages for development, coupled with preserving the green ecological environment, to turn tourism into a spearhead economic sector.

Regarding tourism, service and trade fields, Ninh Binh planned and developed a system of closed and synchronous tourist zones and spots. The province is attracting investment capital for tourism-linked service and commercial projects to woo and keep tourists.

As for agriculture, the province will develop towards green, clean and organic agriculture, coupled with creating unique OCOP (One Commune One Product) items and give priority to self-contained, digital agricultural products.

Regarding investment attraction approach, Ninh Binh province will focus on enticing strategic investors for projects that use advanced, modern environmentally friendly technologies, create high value-added products, and pay much tax to the local budget; projects that are land-effective and labor-extensive; projects that have ripple effects and connect global production and supply chains. The province will draw investors to invest in synchronous industrial park infrastructure construction and operation, automobile manufacturing and assembling, industrial parts manufacturing, and logistics service for electronics and automobile manufacturing.

At the same time, Ninh Binh will robustly build synchronous infrastructure and develop a modern urban area, with high concentration on key projects in the 2021-2025 period; and effectively carry out and complete the Ninh Binh master planning for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050. The province will promote strategic locational advantages as the center of the northern economic region (Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh - Thanh Hoa) as a basis for planning and forming driving force and development space in parallel with reforming socioeconomic development management policies.

To support businesses and investors, the province will promote and improve the quality and effect of administrative reform, improve the investment environment, and raise the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI). Ninh Binh will build and publicize the database on planning; land location and fund; infrastructure; investment support incentive forms; human resource training; and investment project portfolio for investors. The province holds an investor conference every six months to show its support to them and show its readiness to tackle any difficulty arising out of their way to carry out project investment procedures in the fastest fashion as well as study investment opportunities in the province.

The new path ahead will be difficult and challenging. With high resolution and drastic and innovative solutions, the Party, government and people of Ninh Binh province will further promote its historical, cultural and revolutionary traditions; arouse the will and aspiration for development; complete and exceed all targets and tasks stated in the resolution of the 22nd Provincial Party Congress to make Ninh Binh a national tourism center and a well-developed province of the Red River Delta by 2030.

Source: Vietnam Business Forum