Farmers in Cần Thơ harvest autumn-winter rice, as the city pushes sustainable agriculture and seeks high-quality investment to drive long-term growth. VNA/VNS Photo

CẦN THƠ — The economy of Cần Thơ City has posted encouraging results in recent months, yet significant bottlenecks remain that could hinder the city from reaching the Government’s target of 10 per cent GRDP growth in 2025.

The need to untangle obstacles related to public investment capital, attract more non-budget investment, strengthen agricultural market linkages and accelerate urban infrastructure development has been identified as critical for the final stretch of the year.

The municipal People’s Committee has mapped out a package of urgent measures to remove the hurdles.

Priority is being given to accelerating the disbursement of public investment by reviewing every project, assigning specific quotas for investors, and addressing delays caused by land clearance and administrative procedures.

The city aims to achieve a disbursement rate of 68 per cent of its annual plan by the third quarter, a figure expected to generate momentum for other sectors.

At the same time, Cần Thơ is striving to boost budget revenue and maintain prudent spending.

Additional revenue sources are being tapped from e-commerce, food and beverage services and land use fees, while recurrent expenditure is being tightly controlled to free up resources for infrastructure and social welfare projects.

On the foreign trade front, the city is pushing to expand export markets, helping enterprises diversify products, promote trade and adapt quickly to new international standards.

Sustainable agriculture remains high on the agenda, with the city intensifying autumn-winter rice cultivation, expanding vegetable and fruit production, and strengthening disease control.

Fisheries are under closer management to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and safeguard marine resources.

A strong push is also being made to attract high-quality foreign investment, particularly in high-tech industries and agro-processing, while lifting occupancy rates in industrial zones.

Efforts are under way to review planning schemes and enhance the business climate, laying the foundation for sustainable enterprise development.

Achieving the ambitious growth target of at least 10 per cent GRDP in 2025 is no small feat given the prevailing pressures.

However, Cần Thơ’s determination to clear bottlenecks in public investment disbursement, investment attraction and infrastructure development signals a clear commitment.

Alongside this, the city is prioritising social security, administrative reform and anti-corruption measures, all of which are essential to ensuring stability for long-term growth.

The final months of the year are shaping up to be a “sprint to the finish line” for Cần Thơ.

If the proposed solutions are carried out with resolve, the city could not only meet its growth objectives for 2025 but also create a solid springboard for the 2026–2030 period, consolidating its position as the driving force of the Mekong Delta.

Recent data reflects both progress and challenges. Industrial production has maintained its upward trajectory with an 8 per cent year-on-year increase, while trade and services have expanded strongly, pushing total retail sales to more than VNĐ231 trillion (US$9.05 billion), up 18.5 per cent.

Exports have reached over $3.6 billion, a rise of 12 per cent, and tourism has welcomed more than 8.6 million visitors, equivalent to nearly 81 per cent of the annual plan.

Agriculture has met its targets in terms of rice acreage and yield, livestock and fruit production remain stable, and the new-style rural development programme has been advanced with 59 communes certified.

Nonetheless, aquaculture output has fallen compared to the same period last year, with disease risks still looming.

Other persistent weaknesses include the lack of new foreign direct investment projects, with public investment disbursement reaching just 27.7 per cent of the plan, far below requirements. The city continues to grapple with flooding, traffic congestion, environmental pollution and riverbank erosion.

Cần Thơ has been allocated more than VNĐ27.5 trillion ($1.07 billion) in public investment capital for 2025, yet by the end of August only VNĐ7.6 trillion ($296 million) had been disbursed, less than 28 per cent.

Without drastic action, many key infrastructure projects could face further delays, undermining the city’s ability to attract investors.

In the first eight months of the year, no new FDI projects were licensed and no additional projects were recorded in the city’s industrial zones.

Although there are currently 121 active FDI projects with total registered capital of nearly $4 billion, the pace of expansion and new inflows remains modest compared with the city’s potential and its role as a regional hub. — VNS