In 2023, despite facing numerous difficulties and challenges, Kon Tum province still reaped encouraging results in all fields. Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Ngoc Tuan said: This success resulted from the flexible, creative application of Party and State policies and from the effective unlocking and promotion of all available potential advantages to realize rapid and sustainable development goals.
The leaders of Kon Tum province receive approval for the Provincial Planning for 2021-2030 with a vision to 2050
Could you briefly introduce outstanding socioeconomic development achievements of Kon Tum province in 2023?
Resolved to restore and develop the economy and create momentum to achieve socioeconomic goals in the 2021 - 2025 period as per the resolution of the 16th Provincial Party Congress, in 2023, the Provincial People's Committee proposed and drastically implemented tasks and solutions to remove difficulties, support economic sector development, unlock investment capital, launch innovative startup movements and speed up administrative procedure reform. With the resolute spirit and high responsibility of all levels and sectors, with the trust, consensus and determination of the business community and the people, the province achieved important socioeconomic outcomes.
The gross regional domestic product (GRDP) was estimated at VND18,938.78 billion, up 7.32% year on year, ranking 22nd out of 63 provinces and cities in the country and first in the Central Highlands region. Specifically, the agriculture - forestry - fishery sector increased by 5.84%, the industry - construction sector by 10.66%, and the trade and service sector by 6.71%. GRDP per capita was about VND58.42 million, reaching 102.49% of the full-year plan and rising by VND5.82 million over 2022 (VND52.6 million). Total social investment capital was forecast at VND27,035 billion, equal to 100.13% of the plan and up 15.51% year on year.
The economic structure was shifted towards a positive pattern. The total added agricultural value (current price) was VND6,623.27 billion, equal to 101.9% of the full-year plan and 111.9% of that in 2022. The industry and construction value gained VND11,182.13 billion, equal to 104.9% of the plan and 118.26% of the value gained in 2022. The trade - service sector was added VND13,962 billion, equal to 98.67% of the plan and up 111.19% over 2022.
The business investment environment has been significantly improved and the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) has advanced in rankings. According to the 2022 PCI rankings, Kon Tum scored 64.89 points, climbing 24 places as compared to 2021, ranking No. 37 out of 63 provinces and cities in the country and No. 2 in the Central Highlands.
Beside “bright spots” in economic development, the province witnessed much progress in the sociocultural field. People's quality of life continued to improve. Social security and welfare policies were promptly implemented to right entities. National defense, political security, social order and safety were guaranteed and national border territorial sovereignty was maintained.
Besides optimistic achievements, in the past year, the province's socioeconomic development faced many bottlenecks, problems and limitations. Specifically, what are they?
While we achieved optimistic development outcomes, we also confronted certain limitations such as worse-than-expected GRDP growth and budget revenue; slow disbursement of public investment capital; difficult land auctioneering, land compensation and site clearance; slow introduction of specific land prices; agriculture that is yet to promote local advantageous factors and linked to the processing industry and consumer markets; incomplete formation of many concentrated fruit and medicinal plant production areas; slow digital transformation and limited application of digital transformation in production and business.
The above shortcomings and inadequacies originated from many causes. In addition to objective causes (like general difficulty, large and fragmented natural area, complicated natural disasters and escalating market prices), there also came subjective reasons. Some agencies of provincial and local governments lacked active and thorough actions to fulfill their assigned tasks. Human resources for digital transformation did not meet both quantity and quality requirements. Infrastructure and equipment for digital transformation were not synchronized.
Kon Tum Provincial People’s Committee has issued a plan to deploy legal support activities for small and medium-sized enterprises for 2024
2024 is considered an “action” year, particularly important and contributory to the successful implementation of the resolution of the 16th Provincial Party Congress and the resolution of the Provincial People's Council on the 5-year socioeconomic development plan for 2021 - 2025. To complete its targets and tasks, what key solutions will the province focus on?
In order to overcome existing shortcomings and limitations in previous years, in addition to opening and effectively promoting all available potential economic advantages, in 2024, the Provincial Party Committee is determined to carry out socioeconomic development tasks, create momentum to complete its highest goals stated in the resolution of the 16th Provincial Party Congress. The province will focus on effectively executing the following key solutions:
Promptly and effectively carrying out approved plans; mobilizing investment capital from all economic sectors for infrastructure development, especially creating breakthroughs in domestic private and foreign investment attraction in the form of public-private partnership with other countries for influential projects with strong impacts on economic development; having strong solutions to accelerate the disbursement of public investment capital from the beginning of 2024; speeding up the progress of land compensation, site clearance and resettlement, especially key projects; effectively collecting state budget and promoting production development to generate revenue.
Further promoting high-tech agriculture development together with processing industry and consumer markets; expanding the area and sustainably developing key crops such as fruit trees, macadamia, Ngoc Linh ginseng and other medicinal plants; restoring and developing coffee and sugarcane areas; increasing investment in scientific research, production, management of plant and seed varieties and seed sources to production, exploitation, processing distribution and consumption of medicinal products, especially Ngoc Linh ginseng.
Restructuring the industry to focus on some industries with competitive advantages and strategic significance for rapid, sustainable growth associated with environmental protection such as agricultural and forest product processing, renewable energy development, mining and ore processing; further effectively implementing the Kon Tum Industrial Zones Development Project in 2021-2025, with a vision to 2030.
Developing and tapping advantageous service sectors; researching and promoting the development of various types of online commerce and services; improving professionalism and quality of tourism services; exploiting potential advantages of natural landscape, cultural identity, historical relics and other elements to attract tourists; thoroughly preparing conditions for organizing the first Kon Tum Ngoc Linh Ginseng Festival 2024 and the 5th Kon Tum Culture and Tourism Week 2024.
Upholding traditional cultural values, taking care of the material and spiritual life of people and ensuring social security; arranging and consolidating the streamlined administrative apparatus, boosting effective and efficient operations and strengthening decentralization and authorization to remove existing problems.
Further speeding up and creating new breakthroughs in administrative procedure reforms, with focus on administrative procedures without boundary limits, digitizing and using digitized data and delivering administrative results; improving the investment and business environment and enhancing the province's competitiveness; improving capacity, reforming investment promotion activities and stepping up startups; improving the quality of human resources and tightening administrative discipline; ensuring national defense and security, maintaining national sovereignty, strengthening foreign affairs and international integration, creating a favorable environment for socioeconomic development.
Kon Tum Provincial Planning for the 2021-2030 period, with vision to 2050, was approved by the Government in Decision 1756/QD-TTg dated December 31, 2023 and Kon Tum province also held a ceremony to announce this planning. What solutions will the province take to carry out it effectively?
Kon Tum Provincial Planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, aims for an average annual GRDP growth of over 9.5% till 2030, the GRDP per capita of about VND110 million by 2030, total social investment fund of over VND118,000 billion in 2021-2025 and over VND155,000 billion in 2026-2030, over 85% of communes to meet new rural development standards, reducing multidimensional poverty by 3-4% a year, and forest coverage of over 64%.
The planning calls for development breakthroughs in economic sectors and fields like developing high-tech agriculture with processing industry; developing tourism with a so-called “three countries, one destination” approach; creating tourism products and services, with a focus on eco-tourism, agritourism, cultural and historical tourism, leisure tourism and community tourism; focusing on developing infrastructure in Mang Den eco-tourism area to meet national eco-tourism criteria and become an attractive, branded destination in the Central Highlands region, domestically and internationally; developing urban economy, industry and service, driven by infrastructure development investment in key areas.
The planning also involves developing three dynamic urban centers: Central urban area (Kon Tum City with satellite and gateway urban areas), Northern urban area (Ngoc Hoi - Bo Y International Border Gate Economic Zone) and Eastern urban center (Mang Den Town and Mang Den Ecotourism Area); developing economic - technical - urban corridors along Ho Chi Minh Road (National Highway 14) and North - South Expressway, the corridor along National Highway 24 and Quang Ngai - Kon Tum Expressway, and the corridor along National Highway 40B.
The planning is of particular importance and significance to provincial development in the next period; a legal basis for arranging and redistributing space, attracting investment funds and mobilizing resources to unlock and utilize local potential strengths.
Recognizing this importance, the province is determined to uphold the spirit of solidarity, dynamism and creativity, and closely coordinate with central and local agencies to achieve the best outcome. Initially, all levels, sectors and localities in the province will focus on good information and communication, publicly and widely announce planning contents and action plans to all levels and branches of authority, party members and people from all walks of life. At the same time, Kon Tum province will urgently coordinate with central agencies to complete and submit it to the Prime Minister for approval; review, revise and complete urban planning, rural planning and specialized technical planning to submit them to competent authorities for approval; align the planning with master national plans to attract social investment resources to realize the province’s development goals.
Based on the planning approved by the Prime Minister, with local potential and specific advantages, with the support of the central Government and the determination and effort of the entire political system, Kon Tum will definitely successfully achieve all goals and grow stronger, richer and more beautiful as expected by the Party, the government, the business community and people of the province.
Thank you so much, sir!
By Cong Luan, Vietnam Business Forum
Vietnamese
October 2024
Hanoi