Hanoi (VNA)♐ - Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chaired a meeting of permanent Government members in Hanoi on May 26 to discuss the developmentof key economic zones (EZs).

The leader said key EZs form an important pillar of Vietnam’s growth and itis necessary to promptly complete regional and provincial master plans. He asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) to work closelywith other ministries, agencies, and localities to perform the task, stressing thatcities and provinces in key economic zones must take the vanguard in economicrecovery following COVID-19, in particular attracting major corporations andtransnationals with technological expertise and that lead global valuechains. PM Phuc called for attention to infrastructure in the Mekong Delta, in particularthe building of several expressways. Each region and locality must completepublic investment capital disbursement this year and strive to fulfill 2020’ssocio-economic targets, including those related to economic growth and Statebudget collection, following the pandemic. Regarding regional economic restructuring and investment attraction, he highlightedthe need to ensure there are no difficulties facing investors and businesses andto offer them support in terms of credit, water and electricity supply,transport infrastructure, logistics, and especially human resources. The MPI, other ministries, agencies, and localities are required to stand shoulder-to-shoulderwith key economic zones to attract investment and propose special mechanisms tomake them more competitive. In the northern key economic zone, Hanoi, Hai Phong, and Quang Ninh havethe potential to attract investment in high-tech, manufacturing and processing,electronics, services, finance-banking, logistics, and high-tech agriculture. The central key economic zone focuses on the marine-based economy, the automobileecological system, transportation services, and especially services. The PM suggesteddeveloping regional tourism and cooperating with the Central Highlands to formkey zones of regional and global scale. Meanwhile, the southern key economic zone must draw investment in high-techand value chains and uphold Ho Chi Minh City’s leading role in turning the zone into a drivingforce of growth in 2020 and the years to come. The Mekong Delta key economic zone was advised to take advantage of high-techfarming, especially major farm produce such as shrimp, tra fish, and fruit, aswell as the processing industry. Localities were asked to comply with ResolutionNo.120 on the sustainable development of the Mekong Delta and climate changeresponse. According to the MPI, the four key EZs’ gross regional development product(GRDP) grew 7.25 percent on average each year during the 2011-2019 period. Hanoi and HCM City made up 13.08 percent and 19.9 percent,respectively, of the country’s GDP during the period. Key EZs are now home to the country’s largest marine transportation andair services, including six out of the eight national seaports and airports capableof welcoming some 25 million passengers each year. Leaders of ministries and localities also reported on the implementationof the PM’s conclusions on the development of EZs, including investing inregional connectivity projects and chains in tourism, logistics, and high-techsectors, as well as drought and saltwater intrusion prevention and climatechange projects./.