Nam Dan district has not yet made its mark in socio-economic development.

Conference scene. Photo: Dao Tuan

On the morning of July 31, under the chairmanship of comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation, the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee listened to and gave opinions on the assessment of 1 year of implementing Resolution No. 07-NQ/TU dated June 16, 2017 of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee on the direction and tasks of developing Nam Dan district until 2025, with a vision to 2030 and preparations for the 130th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday.

Attending the conference were comrades in the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, relevant departments and branches and leaders of Nam Dan district.

After 1 year of implementing Resolution 07 of the Provincial Party Committee, the results showed that the average economic growth rate reached 9.25%/year (the target of Resolution 07 is 10%). The total production value reached 6,655.7 billion VND. Of which, the production value of agriculture, forestry and fishery reached 2,001.3 billion VND; industry and construction reached 3,013.2 billion VND; services reached 1,641.2 billion VND. The average income reached 40 million VND/person/year (the target of the Resolution by 2025 is 110-115 million VND).

Total budget revenue reached 155.7 billion VND (Resolution target is 250 billion VND). The economic structure shifted towards reducing the proportion of agriculture, forestry and fishery to 35.12% (target 19-21%), the proportion of industry and construction reached 31.62% (target 37-38%), the proportion of service sector reached 33.26% (target 42-43%). The poverty rate decreased by 1%. (target 2-3%/year). By the end of 2017, the whole district had only 3.16% poor households.

Comrade Bui Dinh Long - Secretary of Nam Dan District Party Committee pointed out difficulties in implementing Resolution No. 07 of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee. Photo: Dao Tuan

Speaking at the conference, delegates acknowledged the efforts of Nam Dan district in implementing Resolution No. 07 of the Provincial Party Committee. However, the results after 1 year of implementing the resolution showed that many contents have not been implemented. According to Secretary of Nam Dan District Party Committee Bui Dinh Long, the main reason is the lack of capital and funding while some targets are not close to the practical situation.

Also focusing on clarifying the contents of local socio-economic development, many delegates said that, compared to many districts, Nam Dan is still slow to develop and has little change. According to Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Huynh Thanh Dien, the National Highway 46 bypass route through Nam Dan district, although planned, is very difficult to implement because the investment capital is up to hundreds of billions of VND.

Some delegates pointed out: Right in the center of Nam Dan district town, for many years now, there has been the Plaza building project of Ocean Bank (this bank has gone bankrupt and the State Bank has bought back the assets on the land). However, the project is still in an unfinished state, making the town look shabby and lacking urban beauty.

Comrade Phan Duc Dong - Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Internal Affairs Committee spoke at the conference. Photo: Dao Tuan

Speaking, Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Internal Affairs Committee Phan Duc Dong said that Nam Dan district is still slow in coordinating the implementation of the contents of Resolution No. 07 of the Provincial Party Committee. The results of budget collection and per capita income according to the resolution's targets are very difficult to achieve; the work of promoting internal resources is still modest, state management in some areas has not received attention, other targets such as: the proportion of agriculture, tourism, the rate of schools and medical stations meeting national standards are also not feasible...

Provincial Party Committee members attending the conference. Photo: Dao Tuan

Focusing on the issue of security and order - traffic safety, Colonel Nguyen Huu Cau - Director of the Provincial Police Department requested Nam Dan district to accelerate the implementation of Resolution 56 on clearing traffic safety corridors in the area. "Nam Dan town has a slow urbanization rate but the encroachment of traffic safety corridors is widespread" - Director of Nghe An Police Department affirmed.

Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Xuan Dai said that the province needs to provide partial financial support to help Nam Dan district overcome some difficulties. Photo: Dao Tuan

To remove difficulties for Nam Dan district in economic development and implementing the targets of Resolution No. 07 of the Provincial Party Committee, Comrade Le Xuan Dai - Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested departments, branches and sectors to actively coordinate and support the locality. Comrade Le Xuan Dai also said that the province needs to support part of the funding so that Nam Dan district has a basis to implement some contents and projects to gradually implement the targets set out in the resolution.

Speaking at the conference, Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh requested clarification on how much investment Nam Dan district needs and how to invest. “Compared to other localities in the province, Nam Dan district is lagging behind. Economic development is weaker, production capacity is not as good” – the Provincial Party Secretary affirmed.

Speaking at the conference, Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh said: Compared to other localities in the province, Nam Dan district is lagging behind in many areas. Therefore, the district needs to proactively implement many solutions for socio-economic development. Photo: Dao Tuan

So how will the investment in Nam Dan district be implemented is the question raised by the Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation. Accordingly, Nam Dan district needs to focus on key investments, avoiding ineffective spreading, while the locality is mainly calling for support without defining its responsibilities. The district has not made a clear mark after 1 year of implementing Resolution 07, there has been no change in the local economic picture - the head of the Provincial Party Committee affirmed.

Regarding tourism, according to comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh, the most difficult problem for Nam Dan district is what will be gained from this field. Attracting services and tourism is still very limited. Although considered a key industry of the locality, the proportion of tourism in the economic structure is still weak. To turn tourism into a key economic sector, the participation of enterprises is needed. Nam Dan district leaders need to proactively call on a number of strong enough enterprises to participate in investing in tourism.

A corner of Nam Dan district today. Photo by Thanh Cuong

The Provincial Party Secretary affirmed that the first and most important obstacle in tourism development in Nam Dan district is the issue of infrastructure planning. Comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh requested that Nam Dan district absolutely not grant land to people to level to build houses on the roads to Uncle Ho's hometown, and requested to re-examine the planning work in Kim Lien commune. Because the planning is not complete, it is impossible to invest in tourism, this is the crux of the problem. The responsibility of the Provincial People's Committee is to clear up this issue.

Besides, affirming that the comparative advantage of Nam Dan district cannot be equal to other localities, comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh also requested the leaders of Nam Dan district to be proactive in implementing economic development solutions, and at the same time requested departments and branches to pay attention to supporting, calling for and introducing businesses to invest in Nam Dan, especially in the tourism sector.