Building a project to improve living standards in the Western and coastal regions

(Baonghean.vn) - On the morning of May 9, 2014, under the chairmanship of Standing Committee member, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Xuan Dai, representatives of relevant departments and agencies discussed and contributed ideas to develop a draft Project on Poverty Reduction and Improving the Livelihoods of People in the Western and Coastal Regions of Nghe An by 2020.

Comrade Le Xuan Dai chaired the meeting.

In recent times, implementing local socio-economic development investment programs and projects in conjunction with the Central government's poverty reduction work, by 2013, the Western and coastal regions of Nghe An had positive changes in improving people's lives. The average growth rate in the years 2011-2013 in the Western region reached 6.8%/year, the coastal region reached 8%/year; average income reached 15.5 million VND/person/year in the Western region and 20.3 million VND/person/year in the coastal region, equal to 63.3% and 82.86% compared to the provincial average; the poverty rate in both regions accounted for 24.06% and 8.44%. Infrastructure conditions, especially transportation, irrigation, electricity, healthcare, schools, etc. in both regions have been much improved compared to before.

In the West, 213/217 communes (98%) have motorable roads and 92% have electricity grids to the commune center; 100% of communes have medical stations, over 99% of communes have schools from kindergarten to junior high school built solidly and semi-solidly; these rates in coastal areas are all 100%... At the same time, other areas such as labor quality as well as cultural life in the two regions have positive changes.

However, both regions still have difficulties, shortcomings, and limitations such as the rate of poor and near-poor households, especially in the Western region, is still quite high. Of which, Ky Son is 60.93%, Tuong Duong is 51.55%, Quy Chau is 45%... The quality of labor in the Western region and coastal areas is still low compared to the whole province. It can be said that the scale of socio-economic development and economic growth rate of both regions are not commensurate with their inherent potential and advantages. In the Western region, social evils such as drugs and illegal immigration are still complicated.

There are many reasons for the poor situation in the two regions, such as people's income mainly depends on agricultural production, forestry, salt production, and aquaculture; difficult farming conditions; unfavorable geographical location; technical facilities and infrastructure have developed but have not yet met the needs of production and people's lives; the number of poor households with many children and those who do not know how to calculate and make a living is still high; the leadership and management role of party committees, authorities, and grassroots organizations is still limited.

Based on the above reality, the draft Project on Poverty Reduction and Improvement of Living Standards for People in the Western Region and Coastal Region sets out the following goals: Striving to increase people's income in the 2014-2015 period by 1.65 times compared to 2012 and in the 2016-2020 period by 2 times compared to 2015. In particular, by 2020, the average income in the Western Region will increase from 25.5 million VND to 51 million VND/person/year, of which poor households will increase from 7.6 million VND to 19 million VND/person/year; in the coastal region, it will increase from 33.5 million VND to 67 million VND/person/year. Of which, poor households will increase from 8.6 million VND to 21.5 million VND/person/year. The poverty rate in both regions will decrease from 15% at the end of 2005 to 5% by 2020; Trained labor in the Western region reached 55%, coastal region reached 65%, annual employment in both regions reached nearly 17 thousand people each year.

The draft project also sets out 8 tasks and assigns relevant sectors and levels to organize implementation to bring the project into life with high efficiency.

Viet Long