Former Prime Minister Phan Van Khai's mark on his hometown Nghe An

Nghe An: 10 outstanding figures & events of 2017

(Baonghean) - The year 2017 has just passed and left many important marks. Let's look back at 2017 with PV of Nghe An Newspaper through 10 outstanding numbers and events that took place in Nghe An.

Prime Minister Phan Van Khai writes in the guest book at Kim Lien relic site during his visit and work in Nghe An in 1998 (journalist Van Hien stands on the far right). Photo: Sy Minh

Wide and immense, the West today, we encounter hundreds of thousands of hectares of raw sugarcane fields stretching from Phu Quy to Quy Hop, Quy Chau; hundreds of thousands of hectares of new orange varieties; tens of thousands of hectares of pasture for TH Group's dairy cows, not to mention thousands of hectares of rubber and coffee. That is not to mention the fresh milk processing industrial park with hundreds of millions of liters, the sugar processing area with a capacity of pressing thousands of tons of sugarcane every day and high-end wood processing industrial clusters in the center of Thai Hoa town; in Nghia Hoi commune (Nghia Dan)... located along the road named after beloved Uncle Ho running through the North and the South.

What is newer and brighter for today, for the near future, the distant future in terms of product output, product value brings tens of thousands of billions of VND each year from the new economic zone of Western Nghe An, and what is more valuable is the modern and advanced technical infrastructure foundation, established since 1998, both in terms of strategic orientation, and specific breakthrough steps and solutions for each region, each locality, even each industrial cluster, type of plant, type of animal suitable for the world's development technology.

How can we forget the person who opened the door to the future of the new economic zone in Western Nghe An at that time, when Nghe An's initial starting point was still low, if not to say that some areas were just zero. That person respectfully capitalized is Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet, the person who opened the idea, and it was Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, his successor after receiving the great responsibility of the Party and the Government, who visited Nghe An, the revolutionary homeland, the birthplace of the great President Ho Chi Minh and many other great intellectuals of the nation.

In 1998, in the cold weather, with thin and mild sunshine following the journey of Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, I was assigned by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee at that time, comrade Ho Xuan Hung, to accompany Prime Minister Phan Van Khai on his visit and work in Nghe An. Not in a hurry to work with the provincial leaders, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai reminded Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Ho Xuan Hung to go to the Western part of Nghe An. He was eager and smiling when meeting the workers in Phu Quy area, observing the red basalt soil which is very suitable for long-term industrial crops, citrus trees, and raw material trees, which nearly a century ago the French had seen the potential and advantages to establish nearly a dozen coffee and rubber plantations, exploiting them in a colonial style, meaning to exploit them to the fullest, without returning the fertility to the land.

Sugarcane raw material area in Western Nghe An. Photo courtesy

He had a frank discussion with Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Ho Xuan Hung about the direction of developing a mixed, multi-crop, multi-animal economy with a large-scale concentration in the Phu Quy and Quy Hop areas, creating a foundation for the development of the processing industry. He expressed concern and regret about the potential for agricultural production with the advantage of opening the Nghia Dan to Cau Giat railway, connecting the North-South railway, but only for transporting forest products from the forest industrial zone and Hieu River with an output of 90,000 cubic meters of wood per year. The Prime Minister's regret was obvious because when the wood ran out and the forest was exhausted, the railway line of more than 30 km was also abandoned, the roadbed was stripped, becoming an obsession for an investment policy lacking a broad vision.

When Mr. Ho Xuan Hung presented the policy of developing the raw sugarcane area in the West and setting up a sugarcane processing area with a capacity of pressing 6,000 tons of sugarcane per day, the Prime Minister enthusiastically agreed and noted that the Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghe An province needed to choose a partner with economic potential and reliable, sustainable and long-term technology, while the financial investment for the largest project at that time would be guaranteed and balanced by the government.

And not long after that, the Tate&Lyle sugar project, a joint venture with the UK, quickly became the center of attraction for intellectuals and investment efforts to build a sugar complex located in Nghia Xuan commune, Quy Hop district, brightening and enlivening the entire strip of land that had been immersed for many years in the mindset and manual farming methods, "instant noodles", "small traders", "closed"...

Nghe An Tate & Lyle Sugarcane Factory. Photo courtesy

Prime Minister Phan Van Khai also sincerely discussed, with a warm voice, about the methodical and scientific implementation, not only in the short term, but also considering the long-term steps for this land full of potential. Also during the visit to work with Nghe An leaders, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai also paid attention to the key development direction of tea trees, forming an industrial tea area for stable export, while the markets of Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa are in great need of refined Vietnamese tea.

Leaders of Nghe An province visited the orange garden in Minh Hop commune (Quy Hop), a commune with a "billionaire village" from growing commercial oranges. Photo: Ngo Kien

Prime Minister Phan Van Khai also raised the question of how to expand the fruit and coffee growing areas on the red soil of Phu Quy, Con Cuong and if necessary Tan Ky, Con Cuong, the western part of Yen Thanh district.

The Prime Minister sincerely raised the issue with the provincial leadership about the direction of industrial development, how to increase the proportion of industry in the economic structure, prepare the position, ideology, and will to take the lead in foreign investment trends after the US lifted the embargo in 1996 on Nghe An.

It can be said that Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, during his term of office, always paid attention to Uncle Ho's homeland. Visiting the Kim Lien relic site, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai instructed cadres and employees to represent the whole country to care for, preserve and promote the cultural and historical values ​​of the relic complex so that generations of Vietnamese and international visitors could understand and trust more the great personality and morality hidden in the simplicity and nobility of our Uncle Ho. Visiting Yen Thanh rice district with his wife and daughter Phan Thi Yen, the Prime Minister reminded the leaders to pay attention to educating revolutionary intellectual Phan Dang Luu about revolutionary tradition, steadfast will, not to yield to the enemy, and standing tall before the French colonial execution ground.

Responding to the people's sentiment, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Ho Xuan Hung directly directed the transport sector to upgrade the road leading to the memorial site of comrade Phan Dang Luu.

A corner of Vinh city today. Photo archive.

On the occasion of following the delegation of Nghe An leaders to work directly with the Politburo on the development direction of Vinh city until 2020 and vision to 2030, I witnessed the enthusiasm and carefulness of Prime Minister Phan Van Khai when speaking about the steps and solutions to build Uncle Ho's hometown into a political, economic and cultural center of the North Central region. And not long after that, the Central Ministries and branches paid much attention and directed the pace, direction and development goals of Vinh city in particular and Nghe An province in general.

Prime Minister Phan Van Khai has just followed Uncle Ho into the world of the virtuous, to the great regret of the whole country.

For the Party Committee, government and people of Nghe An, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai's mark will never fade in memory./.