The Standing Committee of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee held its regular meeting.

Attending the meeting were: Nguyen Van Thong - Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Nguyen Duc Trung - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Hoang Nghia Hieu - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; members of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and leaders of relevant departments and agencies.

The economy continues its growth trajectory.

At the meeting, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee listened to and commented on the socio-economic situation, public investment, and administrative reform work in the first six months of the year; and the tasks and solutions for the last six months of the year.

Despite numerous challenges and difficulties, Nghe An province's socio-economic development maintained relatively strong growth momentum during the first six months of the year.

Many indicators maintained relatively high growth rates, such as GRDP and the Industrial Production Index (IIP). In addition, compared to the same period last year, state budget revenue reached its highest level ever.

According to data released by the General Statistics Office, the growth rate of the gross regional product (GRDP) of Nghe An province in the first six months of this year is estimated at 6.76% (6.38% in Q1; 7.22% in Q2), ranking 3rd in the North Central region and 26th nationwide, higher than the same period in 2023 (6.15%).

Specifically, the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sector is estimated to grow by 4.13%; the industry and construction sector is estimated to grow by 9.95% (with industry alone estimated to grow by 11.32%); and the service sector is estimated to grow by 5.85%, with product taxes less product subsidies estimated to grow by 6.77%.

State budget revenue in the province is estimated at 11,897 billion VND, reaching 74.8% of the provincial People's Council's projected target, equaling 140.2% compared to the same period last year and exceeding the set scenario (8,615 billion VND).

Of this, domestic revenue is estimated at 11,052 billion VND, reaching 76% of the projected target and 139.9% compared to the same period last year; revenue from import and export activities is estimated at 836 billion VND, reaching 64.3% of the projected target and 144.2% compared to the same period in 2023.

As of June 25, 2024, the province had granted licenses to 40 new projects with a total registered investment capital of VND 14,297.7 billion; compared to the same period last year, the total newly granted investment capital was 1.14 times higher; at the same time, 84 projects were adjusted, including 23 projects with a total investment capital increase of VND 6,955.9 billion.

The total newly registered and adjusted capital amounted to VND 21,253.6 billion. Of this, 3 FDI projects were attracted, totaling USD 48 million, with a total newly registered and adjusted capital of USD 291.6 million.

However, in practice, several challenges and difficulties have arisen that require focused guidance and resolution in the last six months of the year, as outlined by the members of the Provincial Party Standing Committee.

Comrade Phan Duc Dong - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Secretary of the Vinh City Party Committee - suggested reviewing the goals and targets to propose solutions for implementation; and at the same time, improving the effectiveness of coordination in handling work between departments, agencies and localities.

Comrade Pham Trong Hoang, member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial Inspection Committee, highlighted the difficulties faced by businesses in recruiting labor; and accordingly proposed solutions focused on leadership and guidance.

On the other hand, the Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Inspection Commission also suggested emphasizing the role and responsibility of district-level Party committees and governments in disbursing funds for the three national target programs.

Expressing strong agreement with the 10 key tasks and solutions for socio-economic development in the last six months of the year, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Hoang Nghia Hieu highly appreciated the leadership and management role of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People's Council, the Provincial People's Committee, and the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Nghe An province, with a spirit of unity and focus on improving the effectiveness of leadership and management.

The Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee also requested more attention be paid to resolving complaints and grievances at the grassroots level; and to focusing efforts on disbursing compensation funds for land clearance along National Highway 1A.

Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung further analyzed and clarified the implementation of basic targets in the first six months of the year, such as GRDP, budget revenue, and investment attraction.

However, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested that the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee pay more attention to promoting the land clearance work for the VSIP Nghe An II (Tho Loc) and Hoang Mai II industrial parks, as the progress has not yet met the target, in order to create favorable conditions for attracting investment.

Referring to the difficulties businesses face in recruiting labor, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee stated that if this issue is not addressed directly, it will become a bottleneck in attracting investment to the province in the future. Besides support in procedures, land, and infrastructure, labor is a decisive factor for businesses when choosing to invest.

Based on that, the head of the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee stated that he has assigned the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to coordinate with the Southeast Economic Zone Management Board and other relevant departments to prepare for a specialized conference to resolve this issue; and at the same time, to propose that the Provincial Party Standing Committee consider issuing a directive or resolution to guide the provision of labor to serve investors.

Regarding administrative reform, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee stated that he has assigned the Department of Internal Affairs to guide the implementation of Decree No. 73/2023/ND-CP regulating officials who dare to think and act; and also requested further attention to this issue in order to eliminate the hesitant attitude of some officials and civil servants when performing their duties.

Comrade Nguyen Duc Trung suggested that the province should proactively develop plans, work with central ministries and agencies to obtain guidance, and proactively develop key contents to soon concretize Resolution No. 137 of the National Assembly on piloting the addition of some specific mechanisms and policies for the development of Nghe An province, which will take effect from January 1, 2025, and has a five-year implementation period.

Proactively develop a plan to implement the National Assembly's Resolution on Nghe An.

Concluding this discussion, and acknowledging the achievements of the first six months of the year, the Secretary of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee, Thai Thanh Quy, noted several key tasks, particularly the decisive involvement of the political system in implementing economic and social development and administrative reform tasks in the last six months of the year.

In addition, the Party Committee of the Provincial People's Committee needs to review the results of implementing some difficult-to-achieve targets for the 2020-2025 term, such as GRDP, budget revenue, and per capita income, and report to the Provincial Party Standing Committee by the end of September 2024. These are three very important indicators that reflect the level and quality of economic development and the lives of the people.

Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy also requested proactive planning to implement Resolution No. 137 of the National Assembly on piloting the addition of some specific mechanisms and policies for the development of Nghe An province; and to advise on specific mechanisms and policies under the authority of the Government and the Prime Minister for submission to competent authorities for consideration and decision. Furthermore, the Provincial People's Council needs to concretize the mechanisms and policies that have been decentralized in Resolution No. 137.

Comrade Thai Thanh Quy requested that the implementation of the administrative unit reorganization at the commune level in the 2023-2025 period be accelerated, and that the administrative boundaries of Vinh City be expanded; and that attention be paid to the program of building houses for poor households and households facing housing difficulties.

Comrade Thai Thanh Quy also noted a number of important issues that need to be focused on to improve the effectiveness of investment attraction, such as: land clearance for the construction of infrastructure in the VSIP Nghe An II and Hoang Mai II industrial parks; completing the necessary steps to commence the Cua Lo deep-water seaport project and implementing the LNG power plant project.

In particular, regarding the difficulties faced by businesses in recruiting labor, the Provincial Party Secretary agreed with the view reported by the leaders of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs at the working session that a multi-faceted approach is needed; therefore, he requested that at the upcoming thematic conference organized by the Provincial People's Committee, leaders from districts, cities, towns, and businesses be invited to participate in discussions and find solutions.

On the other hand, Comrade Thai Thanh Quy also requested the involvement of the entire political system, especially the Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations, to connect labor supply and demand; and to consider advising the province to issue support policies to work alongside enterprise policies to attract labor.