Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm at the working session with VInacomin. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm has directed that the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Corporation (Vinacomin) be repositioned as a modern energy and materials industrial group that lives up to its role as a pillar of national industry and energy security.

At a July 29 working session in Hà Nội on Vinacomin’s restructuring, General Secretary and President Lâm said the Politburo’s Resolution 79-NQ/TW, issued in January 2026 on developing the state economy, sets a higher bar for state-owned groups. They must not only stay in control of essential sectors but also take the lead in driving industrialisation and modernisation, with science, technology, innovation, digital transformation and modern governance as the key levers.

To make sure the restructuring delivers a genuine shift in Vinacomin’s development model, he called for the urgent completion of a substantive, tightly focused restructuring plan for the 2026-period.

The scheme must closely follow the Resolution 79-NQ/TW and Resolution 57-NQ/TW on breakthroughs in sci-tech, innovation and national digital transformation, as well as energy and mineral planning and green transition requirements. It should power a green, modern and sustainable mining industry; review each sector, unit and project to clearly decide on retaining stakes, consolidation and merger, cooperation, divestment or shutdown; and keep restructuring to channel resources into priority sectors.

The guiding principle is that state resources must be concentrated on core sectors and key projects that are effective, have broad spillover effects and carry strategic significance. The scheme must set out clear goals, roadmaps and responsibilities, with results measured by productivity, capital efficiency and technological capability, a leaner apparatus and strong competitiveness. The restructuring must make plain the performance of every sector, project and member unit.

In the immediate term, Vinacomin must secure adequate coal supply for the economy, proactively manage imports, blending and stockpiling, and run domestic mining safely, economically and efficiently. It must diversify imported coal sources and achieve breakthroughs in technology, digital transformation and labour productivity to boost efficiency while cutting emissions and environmental impact. It must also overhaul investment and finance, widen development cooperation and strengthen governance capacity, he said.

The top leader requested that worker safety and livelihoods be put at the centre, with resource extraction tied to environmental restoration and sustainable local development. Greater attention must be paid to housing, healthcare, welfare, working conditions and career opportunities. Special focus should go to recruiting, training and retaining underground coal miners, while accelerating mechanisation and automation to reduce the workforce in arduous and hazardous jobs.

Vinacomin must also push the circular economy, treating soil, waste rock, mine water, mine gas, ash, slag and red mud as secondary resources to be recovered and reused, thereby lowering emissions. Mining must be linked to livelihood transitions, infrastructure buildout and the creation of a foundation for long-term economic development in localities after extraction ends.

He also demanded a strong and transparent Party organisation inside Vinacomin, with the capacity to lead a strategic state-owned economic group. — VNA/VNS